The Samurai Family
by Miss DJ Classy B
Summary: It's been three years since the rangers defeated Xandred. It's been three years since they've seen each other. Lauren and Jayden bring the team back together for good. What is life like for the samurais after the nighlok are gone? Kia, Memily, Lauren and OC.
1. Prologue

_Hello people and magical monkeys of Earth! Miss DJ here with another story! I've decided to make my first multi chapter Samurai story! Enjoy :)_

_Dear Samurai Family,_

_Hey, Samurais! It's us, Jayden and Lauren. Man, it has been a long time! How is everything? The Shiba House is doing great but it's been…bland. Mentor Ji got married and only makes few visits here now. There's no annoying Emily waking us up in the morning. No shooting and zombie groans coming from Mike's Xbox. No fishy fumes coming from Antonio's cooler. No mothering from Mia. No advice from Kevin._

_That's just to name a few._

_Jayden: I know it's been a few years since we've seen each other face to face but we can't keep living like this. We can't keep denying our family bond. I know we all come from different lifestyles but we need to compromise. Notice I keep on saying "we". It's going to take a "we" to become a family again._

_Lauren: We need each other in our lives. I know I don't know you all as good as Jayden does but I would love to. Just because Master Xandred isn't causing trouble, doesn't mean we can't see each other. Like Jayden said, it's going to take a "we" to become a family again._

_With much love,_

_Lauren and Jayden_

Mia sighed. She held her little baby bump softly. She tried not to cry, mostly because her husband, Kevin, just came in their bedroom. Mia and Kevin left the Shiba House as soon as they could after they defeated Master Xandred to get married. Mia got a job at a daycare center while Kevin got a job as a swim coach. They used to send the other rangers mail but then they just…stopped.

Kevin walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. Mia sobbed in Kevin's shoulder. When she finished, she broke away from his arms and showed him the letter. Kevin read it and looked back at Mia. Mia took a seat on their bed and stared at the ground.

"I feel like crap Kevin." Mia told her husband. "We used to be so close. What happened?"

"I…I don't know." Kevin replied. "We went our separate ways."

Mia looked into her partner's light, brown eyes. "Jayden and Lauren aren't lying. We can't isolate ourselves from each other when it's obvious our love is there."

"I know." Kevin sat next to Mia. He took her left hand and played with her wedding ring. "I know."

"It's just so hard to believe. We spent two years living together defeating Xandred and the nighloks. We laughed and cried together. We helped who needed help… What is today's date?"

"It's the twenty-fourth of January. Why?"

Mia looked at Kevin in shock. "The twenty-fourth?" Mia asked him loudly.

"Baby, calm down. What is so wrong with it being the twenty-fourth?"

"Kevin today makes three years. Today makes three years since we left the Shiba House. Lauren and Jayden chose this date on purpose."

Kevin didn't say anything. He's speechless. How did they…forget about their samurai lives? Why did he forget the date him and his wife left the house? Or more importantly, how did Mia remember the date so fast?

After a few minutes of collecting his thoughts, Kevin spoke up. "I think we should write them back."

Mia managed to smile a little. "I think that's a great idea."

* * *

Mike and Emily don't know how it happened. One thing leads to another and now they're a soon-to-be married couple. After defeating Master Xandred, Mike went back to his busy life in the city and got a job as a trainer at a local gym. Emily went home too. She moved back in with her parents and older sister on their family farm. Mike was the one to start the love letters. Emily happily replied to them. Soon enough, Mike asked her to marry him and they moved in a small apartment together.

"It's freezing outside!" Emily exclaimed. She put the mail that was in her hand on the kitchen counter and gave her fiancé a quick kiss on the cheek. "Hey." Emily walked over to the closet to put her coat and boots away.

"Hey you." Mike greeted her. He picked up the mail she left on the kitchen counter. "Who do we have mail from this time? He asked.

"I didn't bother looking." Emily replied. She sat on a chair in the dining room. "It's probably just bills."

"Let's see…" Mike leaned on the counter and flipped through the envelopes. "Bill, bill, bill, oh my…" The brunette stopped reading when he read the address on the envelope in front of him.

"What's wrong?" Emily walked next to him. She took the mail from him. When she read the address, she froze. The envelope read: _Jayden Shiba_. Emily gave the mail back to Mike. She couldn't believe what she just read. "You can open it." She said in almost a whisper.

Mike opened the envelope and read the letter that was inside of it out loud. He finished at looked at Emily. "I hate to say it but they're telling us the truth." Mike said.

"Yeah…" Emily nodded. "We should write them back. It would be the right thing to do. We have a _lot_ to catch up on."

"Yes we do." Mike gave Emily a smile and shared a kiss with her.

* * *

"Welcome to the Garcia Seafood Restaurant." Antonio greeted his costumer. He wore a white apron around his waist, a buttoned up shirt with a gold tie, black pants, and black and gold high tops. He also has a small notepad in hand along with a pen.

Antonio left the Shiba House five months after Mia, Kevin, Mike, and Emily did. His family opened up a seafood restaurant on the first floor of their house where he now works. So far the business has been good. Antonio has been living a decent life.

After taking his costumer's order, a mailman came through the door.

"Are you Antonio Garcia?" The mailman asked Antonio.

"Yes I am." Antonio told him.

"This is your mail." The mailman handed Antonio his mail.

"Thank you sir."

"No problem." The mailman left.

Antonio gave his father the costumer's order by the bar and sat on the barstool and tore open the mail. He read the letter.

"Who's it from son?" Antonio father asked him. He could tell the letter is important by the look in his son's eyes.

"It's from Jayden." Antonio answered. "I haven't spoken to him in two years."

Mr. Garcia nodded. He knew enough about Jayden to know how much he meant to Antonio. Jayden and Antonio are childhood best friends. Mr. Garcia had to break them up at a young age because the family moved to a new state. After 16 years, the Garcia's moved back to where they started and Antonio became the first gold samurai.

Antonio ran his fingers through his thick black hair. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Can I take the rest of the day off? I'll be by the docks. I think I need to clear my head."

"Alright but don't be gone for too long. You know how your mother is when you miss family dinner night."

"I know. See you later." Antonio grabbed the pen he was using and a few pieces of paper. He took off his apron, put on his gold headphones and walked out the door.

* * *

Back at the Shiba House, Jayden and Lauren were playing a checkers game in the living room, trying to keep each other entertained. Ever since defeating Master Xandred, they didn't have much to do. Sometimes when the boredom really started to kick in, they volunteered somewhere. Lauren inherited their father's money. The Shiba siblings have a lot of money and not much family to share it with. A year ago, both of them decided to start going to college. Jayden and Lauren were home-schooled when they were younger so they thought college would be a good idea.

"Do you think they got our letters?" Lauren asked her little brother. She moved her red checker closer to Jayden's black checker that she would attack later.

"I think they did." Jayden told her. Jayden stacked his black checker on another. "Yes! All hail King Jayden!"

Lauren shook her head and smiled. She made another move on the checker board and stole a black checker. "Ha! You may be King Jayden but soon enough you'll be scrubbing our dishes!" She looked at Jayden. He made contact with her too. "I _hope_ they got our letters."

"Yeah, me too. I really miss them."

"I'm sure you do. It was just you and Mentor Ji. It's great you made some friends. I didn't make any friends. I didn't get to." Lauren frowned a little. She never got to make any friends as a samurai. She had to focus on the Sealing Symbol in hiding for years on top of years with no distractions.

"Well, you have friends now, friends that care about you. They just got…busy. Mentor still visits when he can. Mia and Kevin are married, Mike got a new job, and Antonio's family has their own restaurant. Emily lives with Mike now so I'm guessing their married. How do you keep up with all of that?"

Lauren thought about it for a while. How do you keep up with all of that? The samurai's lives were basically just getting started. They had no time to talk to friends. They used to email, text, call, or even meet up somewhere. But with everything going on, they sadly forgot about each other. Two years ago Lauren stopped getting messages from Kevin, Mia, Mike, and Emily. Antonio was a little closer. He stopped messaging the Shiba siblings one year ago.

Lauren sighed. She looked at Jayden with her soft eyes and gave him a big smile.

Jayden smiled back. "What are you smiling about? Are you up to something?"

"Let's hope for the best." She stated.

"Let's hope for the best."

_Hope you liked it! Please review!_


	2. Dinner Flirts and Replied Letters

_Updated faster than expected… But that's a good thing! Enjoy! And before I forget again… Disclaimer: I don't own 'em._

"We'll take two glasses of wine." Jayden ordered his and Lauren usual at a five star restaurant. Every other weekend the siblings enjoyed going out for a fancy dinner as a getaway from the house and school work.

"Coming right up." The waiter gave them a nod and walked off to serve his next costumer.

Jayden stared at the envelopes in his hand. The samurais, his friends, they replied to him. He grinned a little. "Lauren?" Jayden called Lauren who is sitting on the other side of the table. Lauren didn't reply. Instead, she kept on looking at the waiter with dreamy eyes. "Oh, I see. Someone has a crush on the waiter."

Lauren turned her attention back to her brother. "I do not!" She defended herself. "He…his zipper is open."

"He's wearing an apron over his pants." Jayden chuckled at his sister. Lauren's cheeks started to burn red in embarrassment. Jayden chuckled again. "It's alright; your secret is safe with me."

"I hate you." Lauren pouted.

"Will you forgive me if I allow you to open the first letter?" Jayden offered her.

"Sure." Lauren took the envelopes and opened the one on top.

_Dear Jayden and Lauren,_

_Kevin and I are doing well. Thank you for asking. We are so, so sorry! We feel so bad for leaving you two in the dust like that! Things just got complicated. Kevin and I have been working overtime at work because we really need the money right now (for a situation that will be discussed later in person). We couldn't find any time to contact you two. You guys are right! We do need each other. To admit it, Kevin and I have been a little lonely without the other samurais too. Sorry again. We should meet up sometime. Any time and place is fine with us. Hope you two are doing well._

_Love,_

_Kevin and Mia_

"Situation? What situation could they possibly be in?" Lauren asked her brother with concern. Mia and Kevin are mature and professionals ones in the group. If their situation is bad, Lauren would worry for them.

"I'm sure they're fine." Jayden assured her. "Mia sounded quite happy. If she and Kevin are in a bad situation, then I'm sure they can handle it. If not, we can help them like we always do."

"Your meals are ready Mr. and Ms. Shiba." The waiter placed Lauren and Jayden's food with care. "I hope you two are satisfied with your meal. If there is anything wrong, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you…Cody?" Lauren thanked him while she read his name tag.

"No problem, ma'am. I'm just doing my job." Cody gave her a smile and left.

"Isn't he dreamy?" Jayden teased his older sister in a high-pitched, girly voice. "I can leave if you want me to. I can give him my chair and you two can maybe share a ki…"

"Shut up!" Lauren cut off her brother's sentence. "Read the next letter."

"Fine, don't get you panties in a twist." He loved messing with his older sister. He has catching up to do from not seeing her in thirteen years before Xandred came back. Of course, he meant no harm to her feelings and she knew he was just playing. Jayden smirked. "Unless… you two…you know what I'm talking about…"

Lauren's cheeks blushed again. She playfully swatted Jayden's hand that was on the table. "Shut up!"

"Okay, okay, geez."

_Dear Jayden and Lauren,_

_It's us! Mike and Emily! It has been such a long time! Guess what? We're engaged! We are so getting back together! We forbid you two to not being in our wedding. You guys messaged Mia too, right? This is going to be so huge! We're extremely sorry for not messaging you guys in such a long time! What have you two been up to? I (Emily) don't have a job currently. And yeah, it sucks. But Mike is working. We would love to see you two and everyone else. Anytime over the weekend is fine with us._

_We miss you,_

_Mike and Emily_

"Aw! Little Emily and Mike are growing up!" Lauren said excitedly. Mike and Emily are the youngest samurais so the thought of them getting married made Lauren very happy for them.

"Yeah, they sound very excited." Jayden said. He opened the last envelope. "This one is from Antonio. Do you want to read it or should I?"

"You can read it."

_Dear Lauren and Jayden,_

_Hola amigo and amiga! Super sorry! Business picked up here at the Garcia's. I had to help my parents more and I didn't have time to talk to you two. Anyways, I've been doing some thinking and well…I would love to move back in. If it's okay with you two that is. I still live with my parents and…No offense to my parents, but I think it's time for me to step away for a while and find myself. I'm doing great by the way. Actually, I need to get back to work. Hopefully we can meet up sometime._

_Adios for now,_

_Antonio_

"He's so moving back in with us." Lauren spoke up. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and took the last sip of her wine. "He brought entertainment to the house. Out of everyone in the house, I have to admit, I miss him the most."

"Yeah, I miss Antonio too. I can't lose him again. He's a true amigo." Jayden agreed with her.

Lauren slouched in her seat a little. "Well, I'm stuffed. When we get the team back, we should bring them here. This can be our usual spot."

"That would be fun. This whole Samurai Family thing is going to be fun. We will see each other more. It can be like old times but with a little twist and no evil constantly knocking at our door."

Lauren nodded then her eyes drifted back to Cody. Cody placed a receipt and credit card on their table and picked up their plates. "I see you enjoyed your meal." Cody said.

Lauren straightened her back in her seat and fixed her pleated blue, mini dress. "Um, yeah, it was great." She signed the receipt and put her credit card back in her purse. She took out a few coins and two dollar bills out her purse and handed them to Cody. "I leave my compliments to the chef…and the waiter."

Cody took the money and gave Lauren a wink. "Enjoy the rest of your night Ms. Shiba." He looked at Jayden. "Enjoy your night sir." Cody walked away once again.

Jayden grinned and stood up. He helped his love-struck sister in her coat before getting into his. "Come on, pretty lady, it's time to go."

* * *

_I guess I can say some of my inspiration to write this chapter came from a BET show I'm watching on Netflix called Let's Stay Together. It's about these professional friends that just got married and have kids and stuff like that and they usually have dinner out at a fancy restaurant. So yeah…As "chill" and unknown to mainstream as Lauren and Jayden are (since they spent their childhood training), I pictured them at a nice restaurant. Also, I didn't want to throw three random letters in one chapter without a background of some sort._

_I absolutely love the way Lauren and Jayden look at each other! Not in a romantic way…that would be creepy. I love their sibling bond I should say. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review! :D_


	3. Welcome Back Part I

_Hola people and majestic unicorns of FanFiction! I saw the last scene in Samurai Forever! Now I have more of an understanding in what the heck I'm doing. But then again, this takes place three years later so it didn't affect my two earlier chapters._

_Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Just so you know I have no idea how many chapters this is going to have. I will update as the ideas come. _

_Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

_Dear Samurais,_

_We're glad to hear from you all. We don't know exactly why you are all so sorry. Don't be sorry. We understand your current lives weren't that flexible at first and probably still aren't. Meet us at the Shiba House next Saturday at 5pm. We will prepare dinner, catch up on some things, and hang out like we used to. Hope to see you there!_

_See you later,_

_Jayden and Lauren_

"Well, don't you look nice today?" Kevin complimented his gorgeous wife.

Mia smiled but didn't say anything. She just fixed the latch on her gold necklace in front of their bedroom mirror. Today, she and Kevin are going to see the other samurais for the first time three years. She had to admit, she felt a little nervous since she's now carrying Kevin's child but knowing her friends, they were going to accept that fact without a problem. She turned so she was facing Kevin.

"Do you see my belly?" Mia asked him.

"No, you're just four months pregnant and we don't even know the sex yet. You're not that big yet, honey." Kevin replied while analyzing Mia's outfit.

"Good because I want it to be a surprise."

"I see that." Kevin nodded and offered her a comforting grin. Mia was excited for their first baby on the way and he was too but right now Mia is a little…too excited. "Are you happy? To you know, see the team again?"

"Yeah, it's been a while. I wonder what Emily and Mike are up to. Last thing I heard from them is that Serena got cured."

"I miss them." The former blue samurai chuckled a little at the thought of the always hyper Mike and Emily. They had so much potential to be a couple back when they were rangers. Sometimes Mia would try to set them up on blind dates seeing if they would share a kiss or two but her plans failed. During their last day at the Shiba House, they finally confirmed their feeling for each other.

"I do too." Mia walked to their dresser and sprayed a little perfume on her neck and then slipped on her boots. She grabbed her purse. "I'm ready to go."

Kevin opened the door for her. "After you my majesty."

* * *

Emily screamed around the apartment in between laughs while running away from Mike. She had just beaten him on his favorite game on the Wii and let's just say he's not that happy about it. Their apartment is small so she didn't have many places to hide.

"Oh Emily, come out, come out, where ever you are…" Mike told Emily. Mike walked slowly into his bedroom. He examined the room until he saw blonde hair sticking up on the other side of his bed. He jumped onto the bed and looked at Emily. She gave him the puppy look. "You're not that sneaky."

"Please don't hurt me Video Game Master Mike." Emily stuck out her bottom lip and tried to make her eyes bigger.

"Sorry, no can do Ms. Video Game Beginner." Mike picked up Emily and placed her on his bed. He wiggled his fingers.

"No, no, no! Not the tickles!" Emily tried to escape but Mike grabbed her legs and pulled her back to his reach and started to tickle her stomach. "Stop! Haha! Stop!"

When Mike was satisfied with his tickle attack, he stopped and looked at the time on his alarm clock. "We're going to be late."

Emily looked at the time too. "Oh no! I have to go get ready!" She grabbed her towel and ran out the room. She spent the whole morning in pajamas and hasn't showered yet. Mike shook his head at his silly fiancee and headed off to the other bathroom.

* * *

Antonio drove into the drive way of the Shiba House. He smiled when he saw Lauren standing outside. He was finally back. He got out his car to hug Lauren.

"Welcome back Antonio." Lauren greeted him.

"It feels good to be back." He stared at the house. "Well, I see things don't change much here."

"I guess you can say that. We're thinking about redecorating the inside. Maybe you and the others can help us with that." She said also giving the house a look.

"Speaking of the others, are they here yet?" Antonio grabbed his suitcases from the trunk of his car and walked into the house with her.

"Nope, you are the first person here." Lauren walked around the house casually while Antonio stood back looking around the house. Everything was where he left them. Lauren watched him and gestured him to sit down. "You can have a seat. You live here now, remember?"

"Um, yeah...I know." He sat down awkwardly as he watched Lauren jog off to the bedrooms.

"Jayden! Antonio's here!"

Lauren didn't come back but Jayden did. The former red and gold rangers exchanged grins. Neither of them knew what to say. They both had a lot to say, they just didn't know how to start. Antonio took a glance at the wall. He noticed a red guitar.

"Do you know how to play now?" Antonio asked Jayden.

Jayden grabbed the guitar and sat next to Antonio. "I'm trying to go for a degree in music. Not a big one though, I'm also thinking about technology."

"That's cool. No…wait. You're in college?"

"Yeah, Lauren and I figured we couldn't live our entire life in this house." He chuckled a little with his best friend. "It's good to have you back."

_So what do you think? Its a little short I guess. I got a little stuck on Antonio's part. Please don't hesitate to leave any tips or suggestions on my writing, and good reviews. I love good reviews just like any other author on here :)_


	4. Welcome Back Part II

_Crash!_

Lauren rolled her eyes and looked down the hall where Emily and Mike were trying to put back together one of Mentor Ji's bonsais. "You just came back and you're already breaking things?" Lauren asked them. She seemed annoyed at first but her expression quickly softened. "Welcome back."

Emily ran into Lauren's arms and almost knocked her off her feet. "We are never leaving for that long ever again!"

"How did you guys get into the house?" Lauren returned Emily's gesture but she couldn't help but notice no one got up to answer the door.

Mike held up his spare key. "You didn't think we would get rid of this, did you?"

"I guess not. Everyone is in the living room waiting for Mia and Kevin now. Go ahead and make yourselves at home while I go get you two some drinks."

"I'll come help you." Emily volunteered and walked to the kitchen with Lauren. That left Mike to find the other guys.

"What's up?" Mike asked them excitedly. He was pumped to be back in the house. He loves Emily with all his heart and she's super fun company to have around but he's glad to be back with some guy friends.

"Hey Mike." Jayden said. "How are you and Emily?"

"We're doing great. Emily is already buying a boat load of wedding magazines. I have never seen her so excited for something. It's an awesome feeling. How have you guys been?"

"I have been traveling to different countries." Antonio answered. "So far I've been to Costa Rica, Hawaii, Bahamas, Japan, and some places in Europe. It's was amazing…" He trailed off. "Did you say wedding magazines?"

Mike pulled out his phone and showed Antonio and Jayden a picture of a big diamond ring on Emily's finger.

"Whoa, that is huge. Where did you get the money?"

Mike just shrugged. "It didn't take much, just a lot of work and sweat." Not that he was kidding; he does work at a gym. "I've been planning it for a while then during Christmas last year, I asked the big question."

"So when is Emily getting a job?" Jayden asked Mike. He remembered reading the letter he got from his earth and forest friends and Emily mentioned she didn't have a job.

"Well, she graduated high school finally. Now she's saying she will be attending online college and is going to get a little job very soon. I'm not exactly sure when is soon though. Emily is a little strange when it comes to school."

Jayden nodded. Emily wasn't the best person in school because of the amount of bullying she received while she was enrolled. He hopes she's pass that now because he wants her to be successful.

"Hopefully she makes the right choices."

"What do you and Emily do for fun anyways?" Antonio questioned. If Emily isn't working, Mike has a small job, and they don't have any kids or pets, what did they do?

"You don't want to know." Mike chuckled.

* * *

"You seem happier." Emily told Lauren.

"Happier?" Lauren looked at Emily confused. "I have always been happy, Emily."

"I know but you seem…different." Lauren gave an even more confused stare. Emily giggled at her. "I mean that in a good way, relax. You smile more, go out more, and you even walk with a little more pep in your step."

"Thank you?" Lauren couldn't tell if Emily was insulting her or complimenting her. She didn't feel different but thinking about, she wasn't the same Lauren Emily met when they were rangers. Now that the nighlok are gone, she isn't under constant pressure. She was more relaxed. Happier.

"So, what's for dinner?"

Lauren scratched the back her neck awkwardly. "About that, I…I can't cook. Well, I can cook but not something really fancy. I was hoping maybe Antonio and Mia can team up and make something. And maybe teach me a few things."

Emily only nodded. Lauren leaned on the kitchen counter to get a good look outside the window. A minivan just pulled up in her driveway. When she saw Kevin step out the driver's seat, she smiled brightly and waved over for Emily to look. The two girls watched in amusement as Kevin opened the door for his wife. They knew Kevin was a gentleman but not like that. They raced to the front door to greet them. Mia waved at them but they didn't wave back. Instead, Lauren and Emily had smirks on their faces.

"What?" Mia asked them.

"I didn't know Mia couldn't open doors for herself." Emily said.

"You guys know Kevin. Chivalry still exists in his mind." She hugged Kevin and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Not that I mind, of course."

"Eww!" Emily stomped back into the house. "I just saw my sister kiss my brother!"

* * *

"Whose book is this?" Mia asked. She spotted a book on the counter while she placed food on the table. She was more than delighted when Lauren gave her the honors to cook a meal for her old teammates. She was still in the culinary academy but she has improved her skills over the time she spent there and couldn't wait to show her friends.

"Oh, that's mine." Lauren took her book off the counter. "I must've forgotten it when I was studying earlier."

"You're studying law?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I am." Lauren said sheepishly.

"I think that's so cool. I don't know what I want to be yet."

Mia gave a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as she sat in her sat next to her. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon."

Jayden stood once everyone got settled in their seats. He raised his glass filled with a fruit punch, nothing too fancy. "I would like to make a toast." Everyone turned their attention to Jayden and held their glasses as well. "First, thank you guys for rejoining our little family. We are glad you all decided to come back. Just because our duties as rangers are done doesn't mean we can't see each other anymore. You all taught Lauren and I about family and friendship. Our parents died when we were young and we couldn't be any more grateful to have you all in our lives. We are all doing something different right now but we can make this work. Family together?"

"Samurai forever!" Everyone chorused. They all dove into their meals.

"How is it?" Mia asked.

"This is great." Mike said. He always hated Mia's cooking the most but not this time. This time he loved it. "I never knew you had in you, Pinkie."

"I agree." Jayden said.

"So, Kevin, I hear you're going to Rio next year for the Olympics." Mike said.

"I am. I have been training so hard." Kevin told them.

"Carnival babes!" Antonio chimed in. Jayden gave him a high-five.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Mia rolled her eyes.

"Hey, no need to be jealous." Antonio teased Mia.

"I choose Mia any day over some girl in nothing but a bikini and feathers." Kevin wrapped his arms Mia's shoulders.

"Mmhm." Mia gave her spouse a stern eye. "You better keep on telling yourself that because if I ever hear you had an affair with a Brazilian chick, I will hurt you."

"Oh!" Mike laughed. He liked watching Mia take over Kevin.

Lauren shook her head. Even three years later, she was still trying to get used to the craziness. Seeing Kevin and Mia interact did make her giggle though until she suddenly remembered something Mia told her through mail. "Mia, if you don't mind, wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Mia looked at Lauren, not too sure what she was talking about.

"You said something about a situation?" Lauren tried to jog her memory.

Mia smiled, glad she brought it up. "I..." She started then paused and took Kevin's hand. "_We're_ expecting our first child."

Silence filled room. No one knew what to say. After a quick moment, Emily hugged Mia next to her and started to jump in her seat.

"Congrats! I get to be an aunt!"

Mia bounced with Emily until she noticed a shiny rock on her finger. She looked in Emily's eyes and her mouth dropped. It was her turned to be overjoyed. "Congratulations, it's about time you and Mike got married!"

Everyone at the table congratulated Mike, Emily, Kevin, and Mia. They spoke endlessly until it was time to go home.

_Bonjour people of FanFiction and sparkly extraterrestrials. I am so glad I finished this chapter. I have so many ideas for this story! As usual, thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows! It means a lot. They make me feel warm and fluffy inside._

_Like it? Hate it? Too rushed? Please feel free to express in that lovely review box below. XD_


	5. Lauren's Close-To-Normal Day

Lauren woke up early the next morning. She got up, took a shower, got dressed in a sweat suit (it was still cold outside) and brushed her teeth. She dried her blonde hair with a blow dryer.

"_Hey there beautiful!"_ Lauren thought to herself. _"We're going on a jog today in the park. There will be kids and puppies and people with their boyfriend or girlfriend…no wait, I don't have one. Sad face."_ Lauren shrugged and pouted then she just laughed it off and began to brush her hair. _"You don't need a man Lauren. You're Miss Independent. Yeah, I like that. Miss Independent. But what if I find a single guy while I'm there? Will I be Miss Independent searching for a man?"_

Lauren struggled to get a knot out her hair. _"Grr! Get out you stupid hair!" _She began to yank on her hair but it refused to move. _"Detangler! I need a detangler!"_ She got her bottle of Detangler and sprayed her hair with it. Once the knot cleared out, she continued her brushing. _"It's quiet. Yawn. Oh! I know! Let's play some tunes on the radio!" _

Lauren turned on her radio. She finished up with her hair and cleaned up. She got her phone and was going to head out of the door until she heard her favorite song. _"Don't dance Lauren. You have to go jogging this morning. No excuses. I can't help it…" _The fire samurai jumped on her bed and sang her heart out into her phone completely ignoring the knocking from her door.

"Lauren?" Antonio stared at Lauren with a tired grin. He was going to remember this moment.

"Yeah?" Lauren answered him. She stopped jumping on her bed and stood there embarrassed.

"Jay made breakfast. So if you'd like to join us?"

"Tell him I'll be there in a sec."

Antonio chuckled to himself and walked out the door. Lauren slid off her bed and groaned.

* * *

"Why do you jog so early anyways" Antonio asked Lauren in the kitchen.

"Because I need to keep this…" Lauren gestured to her butt. "In check."

"Put that away and don't ever do that again." Jayden told his sister in disgust. He was her little brother. He did not need to see that.

"At least it looks better than yours."

Antonio looked at Jayden for his response. He has no siblings so this was interesting for him but instead Jayden mocked his sister by using his hand to show Lauren's talking.

"Whatever, I'm leaving. Don't burn down the house while I'm gone or I'm moving in with Mia and Kevin. Got that?"

"Okay mom." Antonio replied.

* * *

"Ms. Shiba?"

Lauren took her earphones out of her ear and looked around. She heard someone call her last name. She didn't recognize the voice that much and the samurais didn't call her by her last name.

"Ms. Shiba." A tall man called her. He waved her over.

"Cody, right?" Lauren asked him. She instantly remembered him from her night at the restaurant with Jayden. He was the most handsome waiter she has ever laid eyes on.

"Yup, that's me Ms. Shiba." Cody gave her a warm smile. He looked a little worn out like he had been jogging too but he still had the same smile.

"Please call me Lauren."

"Lauren. That is such a beautiful name. My great-grandmother's name is Lauren." Lauren nodded. She could feel her stomach getting butterflies. Cody spoke to her so smoothly. "I hope I'm not being too forward but if you're not busy Friday night, I would love to take you out somewhere."

"Of course, here let me give you my number." Lauren and Cody exchanged phone numbers.

"I guess I will call you later tonight."

"I guess you will." Cody left Lauren. Lauren jumped and screamed blissfully. "Yes! Go Lauren, go Lauren! It's your birthday!" Little kids and elders started at her. She scratched her head awkwardly. "Wow, wonderful weather we're having."

* * *

"You should've seen him Emily!" Lauren told Emily. Emily decided to visit her for lunch in her room. She was serious when she said she wouldn't be gone for long. "His eyes…and his smile, ooh! He's so handsome!

"I bet he is." Emily said. "Where is he taking you out?"

"I don't know. He didn't say but I'm sure it will be fun."

"Well, we need to know soon. Do you _know_ how important a first date is? We have to know what to wear and what make-up will look good in the lighting." Emily chastised her older sister. Lauren was just a beginner in the dating game. She couldn't date while she trained for the Sealing Symbol. And because of that, Emily had a lot to teach her about getting ready for the first date.

"I'm a big girl, remember? I can dress myself."

"But you don't know how to dress yourself for something this huge. When a man gives you time to get ready for something, you use all the time you get. You have to try on twenty different clothing, get your hair done, experiment with your cosmetics, and practice your booty shaking."

"Booty shaking? Whoa there girly, slow down. I'm sure it's not that big of a deal."

"That's what they all say." Emily gave Lauren a disapproving head shake.

* * *

"Hey." Lauren talked into her phone. She was speaking to Cody. "Oh, I'm not doing anything. You're probably just hearing my brother and his friend play their guitars." Lauren told him while glancing at Antonio and Jayden in the living room. Antonio was teaching Jayden the notes to the song he and Mia sang together at a charity concert for her brother, Terry. "You play the piano? That's so cool. I don't play any instruments."

"Hey, you said you would take me somewhere, right?" Lauren didn't really agree with Emily's First Date Rules but she too was a little curious as to where he would take her at such short notice. "Karaoke? I can't sing. You really think so? Of course, I will go but I can't…Okay, okay."

Lauren could hear Antonio and Jayden greeting Ji and his wife at the door. She didn't expect to see them but they were family so it didn't matter. "My…parents just walked in. I'll talk to you later, bye."

"Mom!" Lauren hugged Ji's wife, Catherine. She was the closest she had to a mom since her birth mother died. Since coming home three years ago, she had been hoping for a family to lean on apart from the other samurai. Catherine didn't mind her calling her mom. She actually felt very much honored that she can make Lauren happy as a parent she never had.

"Hi honey. How are you doing?" Catherine hugged Lauren and then Jayden.

"Hey, Catherine." Jayden waved at Ji. "What's up Ji?"

"Hello Jayden." Ji said as they walked back to the living room.

"Who is this young man?" Catherine asked Jayden. She has never met Antonio or the other samurai before. She shook hands with Antonio.

"Catherine, this is Antonio, the first gold samurai. Antonio, meet Catherine, the sweetest woman I have ever met."

"Hello, ma'am." Antonio said.

"Oh please, call me Catherine."

Ji looked at Lauren and Jayden suspiciously. Jayden never told his about getting the team back together. "What did you two do?"

"We made the family bigger." Ji smiled at Lauren's response.

_Heeey people and…and…purple bunnies! Of FanFiction :P If you haven't noticed yet, I love Lauren's character. The first part of this chapter came from watching too much Jenna Marbles and iJustine videos on YouTube…..I hope you like this chapter! If you didn't, then tell me why and how I can improve in that lovely review box below :)_


	6. Protective Brothers and Getting Ready

_I finally got a book cover for this story! It was a pain to make at 2am in the morning…._

"So…all of you are Lauren's brothers?" Cody just walked in through the doors of the Shiba House and was already being interrogating by five men and one of them looked twice his age. He guessed that was the father or head of the household. Cody has been on too many dates to count but when he met Lauren, he felt something different. He wanted to give her a try but knowing how protective her family is made him feel very nervous.

"Why are you all harassing this young man?" Catherine asked the boys. "He's probably just as nervous as Lauren." She gestured for Cody to take a seat. "Would you like something to drink? I know just as well as any other woman that five minutes is not a short wait."

"Thank you ma'am." Cody played with his hands. Usually just a protective father was expected but this was way different. Lauren had brothers, a lot of protective brothers. And they were all giving him a dirty look.

* * *

"He's here?" Lauren held her head in hands. She had been sitting by her dresser for hours in nothing but a robe on. She didn't take Emily's First Date Rules that seriously. Now, she's unprepared.

Emily and Mia shook their heads in disappointment. They tried to warn her.

"Well, it's going to be at a Japanese Karaoke Restaurant, right?" Mia asked. Lauren nodded to confirm. "Good, that's a perfect first date."

Emily started to dig through the closet, ignoring Lauren's protest to get out her personal things. "That means you don't need anything too fancy but you also don't want to be too simple but then again, you want to make a good first impression." Emily said.

"Okay…" Lauren wasn't sure what all of that meant but she went with it anyways. Mia's married and Emily is engaged. She trusts they know what they are doing even though she was slightly scared with what Mia was doing with razor in her hand.

* * *

"Are you an alcoholic?"

"Do you smoke?"

"How many girls have you dated?"

"How many girls have you kept for longer than six months?"

"Are you a virgin?"

"Are you a virgin?" Ji questioned Mike a little disgusted.

"I needed to ask a question too." Mike replied innocently.

"Look, I know you're all worried about Lauren," Cody started. "But I can assure you Lauren is in good hands. I don't have a very stable job but I'm trying to get a better one. I live with three roommates, all male. None of them are female. I'm not an alcoholic; I only drink on rare special occasions. I can't stand the smell of smoke either. I've never been arrested. I've also haven't had a girlfriend in two years."

* * *

"I can't breathe!" Lauren exclaimed as she hopped around trying to fit her thighs into jeans.

"Suck it in! Beauty doesn't come easy!" Mia told her. She felt confident that the pants fit perfectly until she heard a loud rip. "Or cheap…"

"Hey, you ripped my good jeans!" Emily pouted.

"I didn't rip you're jeans!" Lauren was rolling around on the floor trying to get her legs out of the tight pants. "You forced them on me! I have twenty pairs of jeans. It's not that hard to ask."

Mia sighed and grabbed the fire samurai's legs. "Go look for more jeans Emy." She started to yank on the pants. "Ugh, how can these possibly _not_ fit you? You're not that much bigger than Emily. If someone is going to be the big one here, it's me."

"You're the skinniest pregnant woman OW…" Lauren yelled when Mia finally got one leg out of the jeans. "…I have ever met!"

"Oh, be quiet and help me get your make-up on!"

* * *

"Sounds like you have a pretty decent life going on for you Cody." Kevin said. Cody actually seemed like a very nice guy to Kevin. It wasn't often Kevin accepted someone new in his life so fast. He didn't even like Antonio when he first arrived with his self-trained gold symbol powers.

Jayden shook Cody's hand tightly. "Just don't hurt my sister. She's the only blood family I have left and when she hurts, we all hurt." The other samurais nodded their heads. Lauren might be eldest of all of them but she wasn't the biggest expert on the city or the dating games for that matter.

"Aah!" Lauren tripped on her way to the hall in attempt to escape Mia and Emily. She's ready; they were driving her crazy at this point.

"Look at you, you're falling and you haven't even gotten out the door yet." Emily helped Lauren to her feet.

"Darling, you did a good job." Catherine told Emily. "Lauren is fine."

"Thank you mom." Lauren said.

"No problem honey." Catherine waved Cody over. "I don't think you two want to be late."

Cody took Lauren from Catherine and gazed on her beautiful body. She looked gorgeous. She had on a long sleeved, dressy top and boot-cut jeans (that fit and didn't have to be ripped), with pumps to match to her perfection. Her make-up is so soft; it wasn't very noticeable like the eye-popping make-up she would wear if she was going out with the girls.

She wasn't too fancy and she definitely didn't look too simple.

"Are you ready?" Cody asked. Lauren nodded. "Let's go then."

"Be careful!" Emily yelled from the door's porch. "And be sure to take pictures and videos of yourself singing!"

_A little short…but hey! Look out for the next chapter…whenever I actually get to starting it though. If you would like to know the first time Lauren called Catherine mom, check out my Christmas one-shot named Lauren's Christmas Spirit! Thanks for the reviews, follows, and reviews as the usual!_

_Like it? Hate it? Needs work? Sound of in the review box! Happy Holidays! :D_


	7. Lauren's First Date

_Hey peoples! Guess what?! I was telling myself, "You're going to finish this chapter and post it!" And then I was like, "Yeah!" I was doing well and then I got flipping stuck with writer's block! I didn't even know where Cody would take her until I went to karaoke with my friends and then the idea came to bring the random couple here. I think you might even notice the spots I got stuck on. I also got hypnotized by YouTube and Netflix. Then, for some other reason I was like, "Karaoke? Singing?" Like seriously, I just reminded myself of Disney so I'm going to call this the Disney chapter. I don't know why though…if you find out the songs used in this chapter, I will…I will tell you Hi. Hey! Did you know I remembered there was a little boy in PRSS that guarded the bull zord named Cody after naming my Cody? Yeah…I think that is the end of my random rant. Read on…_

* * *

"Well, they aren't really my parents." Lauren told Cody. The date has officially started and it was time to get to know each other more and Cody was already curious about Lauren's family. "I just call Catherine mom because she's the closest I have to one. All of the other people you saw in the house are very close friends. Jayden and I are the only Shibas left."

"Really, why is that?" Cody asked.

Lauren stirred her drink with her straw, unsure how to answer that. Even after saving humanity from a horrific world of nighlok, no one knew who the samurais were except the samurais themselves unless they told someone close who swore to not tell anyone. They're supposed to stay a secret no matter what. Not knowing how long her relationship with Cody would last, she kept out all of the little details and just simply told him many Shibas died several years ago during one of the nighlok invasions. It wasn't a lie, just not all of the truth.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Cody apologized. "I can't imagine losing family to those creeps. The other samurais did a good job a few years ago though."

Lauren smiled a little inside at the compliment. "It's fine, don't be sorry. Everything happens for a reason, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Cody flipped through his menu. "What are you ordering?"

"I'll take whatever you're having if that's okay with you."

"I think I know what you might like." Cody smirked. He sees her a lot around his job to know at least a few dishes she likes to order when she's there.

"_Let's get…UNRULY! Um…Dirrty! Start party!"_ A man on stage in front of Lauren and Cody's table struggled to get the lyrics of a song. Lauren couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand and giggle a little. She still clapped for the effort even though he did a terrible job. She already told herself she wasn't going on stage.

"That was bad." Cody chuckled and clapped too. "I bet you can do better than him."

"I told you I can't sing."

"Oh, come on! That's what every first time karaoke people say. Karaoke is so much fun and it doesn't matter if you have a great voice or know all the lyrics. They give you the lyrics anyways. People are just bad at reading them."

"I don't know…"

"How about this, you can wait for the food and I will go get the song book for you to look at. Trust me; it's going to be great."

"Fine, I'll do it." Lauren rolled her eyes and sighed. She's never done anything on a stage with people watching unless it was the TV news reporters recording her on an abandoned street in her ranger helmet. And not even that counts much because she wasn't there for most of the fights.

After grabbing the song book, Lauren and Cody searched through the book for a song they knew or one that interest them. Lauren tried to reject all of them in attempt to stay off the stage but that wasn't working with Cody. He knew she had to at least like a few of the songs. It's a big book.

"This is a very popular song right now." Cody said while analyzing the book.

"I don't like that song." Lauren told him.

"For real…" Cody sighed. Lauren doesn't know or like any of the songs he likes.

"I'm sorry, I'm very picky when it comes to music."

"I see you two are having difficulty choosing a song." A woman said as she placed food on their table. "I could get you another book."

"That would be appreciated Amanda." Cody thanked her.

"Sure thing Cody." Amanda gave him a smile and left.

"You know every waiter and waitress in town, don't you?" Lauren questioned Cody.

"Not really, that was my cousin, Amanda." Cody responded to her. "And she just works here on mostly weekends for karaoke and extra cash."

"Oh, I see."

"So, tell me more about yourself. What do you do for a living?"

"Well, I'm studying law in college. I don't have a job unless you consider annoying the heck out of my brothers and making fun of my sisters a job." Lauren giggled at the thought.

"Is…is that house all yours?" Cody asked randomly at the moment. When Lauren gave him the address to her house, he couldn't believe how far it was from the city and how luxurious it looked. She couldn't have bought all of it herself since she has no job.

"It is…well, I own it with Jayden." Lauren said timidly. It wasn't really any of his business but Lauren decided she would be more open about herself for the sake of it being her first date. "I inherited our father's money."

"Oh, that's nice." Cody nodded, not wanting to ask anymore sensing how uneasy Lauren was about the question. He grabbed his chopsticks, trying to place them in his fingers correctly. "I can never get these things right."

Lauren giggled at him and picked up her own chopsticks. "Here, let me show you. I study a lot of Japanese." She showed him how his fingers are supposed to be set and then put her chopsticks in between certain fingers but Cody still didn't get it. She moved closer to him and took his hand smoothly, moving his chopsticks in between his fingers properly. Cody watched her with a smile until his cousin came back and shoved another song book in the middle of their moment.

"Having fun?" Amanda smirked and walked off leaving them alone again.

Lauren's cheeks burned the color of her ranger color while Cody cleared his throat. "Um, thanks, it's about time I used these right."

"It was no problem." Lauren responded, fixing her hair behind her ear.

"_I will love you until the end of time…"_ A short teenage girl on stage sang. She moved to the beat and flipped her hair with attitude.

"Wow, I think we will see this little girl in the studios recording soon." The host said when she left the stage.

"She's really good." Lauren clapped for the girl.

Cody flipped through the new song book with a grin. "Here we go again."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you like this song?" Cody pointed in the book.

"Uh, eh, it's an okay song." Lauren lied. Well, she has been lying about how she felt about most of the songs because of stage fright but the song he pointed out this time was her favorite song. Cody caught her this time and wrote her name on a piece of paper with the song beside it. "What are you doing?"

"Making you get your fifteen minutes of fame. It's pretty obvious you haven't had yours yet." Lauren's mouth dropped open. "Don't worry, I won't outshine you when I get my turn up there."

"Cocky…I like that. Fine, we'll see who does better." Lauren crossed her arms, showing her competitive side.


	8. Mornings

Kevin watched his wife sleep next to him. She looked so peaceful. Kevin considered himself a lucky man to have married such a beauty. As cheesy and overused as it was, Mia completed him. Half of his heart was filled with her kindness and couldn't function without Mia by his side with her signature sweet smile or even her stern eyebrows when she needed to put his stubborn self in check. Kevin allowed his eyes to gaze at her growing stomach. He knew Mia would make a wonderful mother. She's already a caregiver to many kids at a daycare when she isn't in school working on her culinary degree. Kevin hopes she can drop her daycare job soon though but he wouldn't tell Mia that. She made it clear that she would work there until she got her degree in school and he didn't bother to argue with her.

Mia's eye lids flied open. She felt panicked but she relaxed once she realized Kevin was next to her wide awake.

"Good morning." Kevin offered her a warm smile.

"Morning." Mia whispered and attempted to smile back but failed. She didn't want Kevin to know she was upset.

"What's wrong?" Kevin frowned. "I thought my Sleeping Beauty was always happy to see me in the morning."

Mia sighed, knowing she couldn't lie to him even if she tried. "I had a dream. Our baby was born and I couldn't make out the gender but he or she had your eyes. Everything felt so right. Everything in the world was perfect and then my dream soon turned into a nightmare." Mia swallowed a lump in her throat. "There…there was something wrong with the baby."

"What was wrong with the baby?"

"I don't know. I woke up at that part."

Kevin wrapped his arm around her and comforted her. "Our baby is going to turn out just fine. He or she is going to have great parents and aunts and uncles too. Emily is going to be cooing all over the poor thing. Our baby is going to be so spoiled!"

Mia giggled at the thought of her friends buying the baby everything it wanted and more. "That would be nice but we need to get some shopping done today if we want to see that dream happen. We don't have any groceries in the house to last us."

"Do we have to do that today?" Kevin stretched and faked a yawn.

"Yes we do lazy pants." Mia kissed him passionately. "Is that enough motivation for you?"

"What are we still doing in the house?"

* * *

"So how was your night amiga?" Antonio asked Lauren as he took a seat around the kitchen table. Lauren had gotten home late when he was fast asleep in his bed so the light samurai didn't get to ask until now.

"It was great. I haven't had fun like that in a while." Lauren responded.

"Did you sing?"

"Maybe I did…maybe I didn't." Lauren shrugged, still a little tired. She did sing last night. She sang her song and Cody sang his then they both ended up singing a few duets before calling it a night when they got tired. The fire samurai dragged her feet to the freezer and began to search. "Jay, where's my French toast?"

"I don't know why you're asking me when you're the only one that eats that stuff." Jayden told her. "Add that to the grocery list along with coffee."

Lauren groaned. "You finished that too?"

"No, you did." Jayden corrected her. "Remember yesterday when you and Antonio started wrestling over the jar and it got all over the floor. Then both of you left me to clean it up?"

"Lauren wasn't sharing." Antonio pointed out. "And I clearly had it first."

"Sharing my butt!" Lauren retorted. "You're using your own money to buy me back my coffee personally. And it better be gift wrapped too."

* * *

"Mike, get up!" Emily tried to wake up her fiancé, who didn't seem to be making an effort to get out of bed.

"I'll get up later Emily." Mike mumbled under his pillow.

"But it's almost noon! Wakey, wakey!" The earth samurai stole Mike's pillow and used it as a weapon to beat his head but Mike just got his other pillow and used it as protection. Emily pouted. She never had luck waking him up in the morning. Mike slept heavy every night and woke up very cranky every morning.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Emily jumped on his bed.

"Emily, stop! I will get up in five minutes."

"But you said that an hour ago!" She whined. She wanted to break him out of this habit before they got married and so far, she was making no progress.

"This time I'm serious."

Emily didn't respond. Instead she stopped jumping and sat down next to him and tried to open his eye lids. "Mikey? Oh, Mikey! It's time to get up. You're awesome fiancee will make you waffles with syrup and strawberries and you can even get some nice orange juice on the side."

Mike still didn't move from his spot. Emily huffed. "Fine, I'll make my own waffles and you can't have any."

Another long ten minutes passed until Mike finally decided to get out of bed but he didn't see Emily. He walked into the living room to see Emily enjoying her waffles on the couch watching the television. Mike grinned and made his way slowly to her.

"Hey, Emily, your breakfast looks really tasty." Mike told her.

Emily's blue eyes followed Mike as he sat a couple inches away from her. "Yeah, it's really good. Maybe if you didn't sleep in so late, I would've made you one…"

"Well since I slept so late, I don't have time to get breakfast and then get ready." Mike got closer but Emily moved away. "I don't think it would be right for us to see our wedding planner when my stomach is empty and yours is not."

"I'm sure she'll understand. You deserved it." Emily took a bite of her waffles but her eyes never left Mike's. She knew what he was up to. Mike still didn't give up. He got closer and Emily moved farther away until she got to the edge of the couch.

"No!" Emily told him. "Make your own."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please?"

Emily sighed and gave him her plate of food and went back to the kitchen. "Thanks, Em." Mike chuckled and stuffed the food in his mouth. "You're the best fiancée in the world!"

"Whatever."


	9. Errands

_Thank you to the guest review that corrected me! I did not pay good attention in art class..._

Mike took a good look at the garden he was standing in. His and Emily's wedding planner suggested that they have their ceremony at a garden since Mike seems to have an obsession with green and Emily's just as happy around a forest as he is. Emily and Mike's samurai elements weren't that different from each other so it made deciding easy. They both felt relaxed when they were near nature.

"I think this place is perfect." Mike wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder. "What do you think?"

"I think it's very peaceful and romantic." Emily agreed with him. It only made sense that they have their special day where they felt most comfortable. "We're having the wedding here Sydney."

The wedding planner nodded. Sydney became a wedding planner because she loved the romantic life. Planning two love birds wedding was very rewarding to her. She didn't like dirt or sometimes flowers because they attract bugs but if her clients loved the place, she had no problem with that.

"I will make sure this place is reserved for you two." Sydney told them. "Have you made your decision on what day you would like the wedding?" Mike and Emily looked at each other. Neither of them knew what day they would like to get married. "I can give you a week to think about it but I will need to know soon. Just keep in mind that the day you choose will be your anniversary day. Think it through wisely."

* * *

"These cribs are too expensive." Mia frowned at the tags on the cribs she saw in front of her. She needed a crib soon. Her baby isn't sleeping on the floor once it's born. Babies need a soothing bed to sleep on too.

"We'll think of something." Kevin assured her. "I'm sure we will."

"Lauren, look what I got…" Kevin and Mia turned their heads to see Antonio offering Lauren coffee in the grocery aisle. Lauren didn't look too amused. They shook their heads at their friends and went over to say hi to them. They were surprised to see such a mess on the floor.

"From now on, I will handle the coffee." Jayden told his housemates as he took the jar away from them cautiously. Lauren was still trying to get used to having Antonio around and their coffee battles weren't making things any better.

"This happens often?" Mia raised her eyebrow.

Jayden chuckled at her reaction. "You would be surprised at the things I go through on a regular basis."

"At least you have some interest in your life now." Kevin told him.

"Wow, that's a lot coming from a boring guy like you Kevin." Antonio said ignoring Kevin's glare.

"Hey Lauren, would you like to pick up some baby diapers with me?" Mia asked Lauren. "The boys can pick up the groceries." It was a coincidence they're both shopping in the same store today but if they split up, they could get their work done faster and maybe go out later.

"Sure, Antonio is driving me crazy right anyways." Lauren responded and left with Mia.

"How is Mia nowadays?" Jayden asked Kevin. "Anything unusual?"

"She's fine." Kevin gave Jayden a confused look. Why is he so concerned all of a sudden about Mia's health?

"I'm just making sure. Keep an eye out on her." Jayden told him seriously. Kevin only nodded.

"What's wrong with Mia?" Antonio asked. He didn't know what Jayden was talking about either.

"Don't worry, Mia is fine for now." Jayden assured them. "Kevin, when you're around Mia, use symbol power or do some water activities with her. Let's just say mixing elements isn't easy." Jayden wasn't sure because for generations, the samurais never hooked up or had babies for that matter but he knew what he was saying. Mentor Ji had told him something very important about Mia when he heard the news about the pregnancy.

* * *

"Well, we know our wedding is going to be in the spring." Mike told Emily in the car. "That's a start."

"Our wedding color should be blue." Emily suggested. Mike and Emily decided to have a wedding planner for a reason. Not only were they unorganized but they had no idea what they wanted.

"Why blue?"

"Because the sky is blue. It hangs over the green forest with the yellow sun."

Mike smiled brightly. "I think that's a great idea Emy."

"I need to call Serena later so we pick out the bridesmaid dresses. We should invite Terry too. I wonder what he has been up to with his band and medical school. His band could play at the reception." Emily rambled on. She wasn't planning a big wedding but now that the samurais are back together, it wouldn't be a bad idea to invite their families too. All generations of the samurais knew each other. It could be a good way to reunite.

* * *

"Man, these are heavy!" Lauren exclaimed. She offered to carry the big pack of diapers and the light-weighted pieces of cotton were not being nice to her. "So when are you finding out the gender?" Lauren asked Mia.

"We'll find out in two weeks." Mia confirmed. "I'm so excited. Once I know, I will be able to buy cute little clothes."

"Would you like a baby shower to celebrate? I think that would be nice but you don't have to have one."

"Ooh, I like that idea but I don't want it right after I find out. I want it to be a surprise."

Lauren laughed at Mia's excitement. "Anything you want. You know Jayden and I are here for you, right? We don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Mia gave Lauren a perplex look. "Of course I do, Kevin and I are there for you guys too. We are all here for each other. Samurai forever, remember?"

"I'm just making sure." Lauren tried to give her a smile. She knew something that Mia didn't and she wasn't allowed to say anything until the time was right. It was driving her nuts. "I love you Sis. I love Jayden too but it's nice to have a sister."

"I love you too but stop with the mushy-gushy stuff before you make me cry. We're all here for each other and nothing bad is going to happen to any of us. Master Xandred is gone now and he is not coming back."

"Okay Mia." Lauren said. "Okay…"

_Nothing is going to happen to Mia now. I just felt it was a good place to say something. Happy New Years everyone! We all survived the 2012 apocalypse… :P JK. Hope you all have a wonderful 2013!_


	10. Mia's Dying?

_10 chapters already?! XD Well, it's 2013 and the second half of the school year…so we'll see how this updating thing goes but so far I'm on a roll :P_

Emily stared at her white dress in the mirror. Today she, Mia, Lauren, and Serena are looking at wedding gowns for the big day. Mike and Emily still haven't chosen a date for the wedding but they knew it was soon. The closer the spring got, the more nervous Emily got. A day that will change her relationship. A day that will change her last name. A day where two families will merge together. She will be known as a missus. She's still young. She never thought about ever getting married because of the bullying she received. Everyone at school called her ugly and said she would never find love.

But they were all wrong, she's going to get married and hopefully have kids with the love of her life, Mike.

"You look beautiful Em." Serena complimented her sister. She's still single because of her sudden sickness. She was trying to get her life back on track after being cured. She missed out on high school and if she didn't get sick, she would be graduating college now. That didn't matter to her now, though. Her baby sister is getting married. She couldn't be more proud of the woman Emily has turned into.

"Eh, I don't like this dress." Emily gave herself another glance in the mirror before turning her gaze to Mia who was sitting down looking at a baby magazine. "What do you think Mia?"

"Um, yeah, cute dress Emily." Mia told her without taking her eyes off of the magazine.

"Mia!" Emily crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not looking for cute."

"I'm sorry, I'm so excited! I just found out I'm having a healthy baby girl."

"She's not a doll Mia." Lauren took the magazine from her. "Help Serena and I choose some bridesmaid dresses."

"Fine, just let me use the restroom first." Mia got up almost tripping over her own feet. Good thing Lauren is always fast to react or that wouldn't have been a nice fall.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Serena asked the younger woman. She didn't know Mia that good but she knew how much her well-being meant to Emily.

"Yes, I'm okay." Mia told them. "I'm just a little shaken up, that's all."

Lauren hesitated but nodded when Mia left. She gave the Earth sisters a frightened look. She had to tell them. "Don't tell Mia what I'm about to tell you."

"Why has Mia been so wobbly lately?" Emily questioned Lauren with concern. "What's wrong with Mia?"

"It's complicated." Lauren sighed. This isn't going to be easy to explain. "Mia and Kevin's wind and water powers are both very strong. So far, it seems that the baby has more of Kevin's water genes and they are too powerful for Mia's body. After that little trip she just had, I'm starting to get very scared. What's going to happen to her when get's closer to her due date?"

"MIA'S DYING?" Emily screamed. She was about to say something else until Lauren's hand caught her mouth.

"Shh!" Lauren hushed her. "I never said she's dying."

"But you implied it." Serena pointed out.

"Just don't tell her. Do you want Mia to remain happy or not? If nothing really bad happens and we tell her, then we just worried her for nothing."

"Does Kevin know?"

"Yes, he does and he has all eyes on her."

Serena and Emily exchanged glances. Mia just took a trip but what if Lauren didn't come to her rescue? They both didn't like the idea of keeping such an important fact away from Mia but they both agreed to not say a thing to her.

"Look at these gorgeous dresses I passed by…" Mia showed them a blue dress. None of the girls were smiling. "What's wrong? Is it the bow in the back? I'm sure we could ask for something less big."

"I like it." Emily spoke up, breaking the silence. "Right girls?"

"Right…" Serena and Lauren said awkwardly.

* * *

Later that day, Mike was giving Emily a cup of tea in their room while Serena took a shower. It has been a long day of white and blue dress eye-shopping and she was exhausted. She wasn't used to the fast city life like her sister. A few years ago while Emily was saving citizens in the city, she was ill at their home on the family farm. Sometimes she considered her illness as not good thing but one of those things that just happened for a beneficial reason.

"How was your day?" Mike asked Emily. "I'm sure it was great."

"It was okay I guess." Emily said, not wanting to get into any details.

Mike looked at Emily sadly. She didn't seem too blissful like she usually is. "Did someone die?"

Emily almost choked on her tea when she heard Mike use the word die. "No, no one died. Nobody is dying or is going to die."

"Emily, chill, I was just playing. What has you so spooked anyways?"

"Mia's dying." Emily whispered.

"MIA's DYING?"

Emily couldn't help but giggle softly at Mike using the same reaction she did back at the bridal shop. Then, she got serious again. "Well, not really dying. The baby is too strong for her so it's harming her."

"Oh…" Mike didn't say anything. He was in shock. That was a lot to take in. Mia has been an excellent older sister to him and he couldn't ever imagine losing her so soon. He just hopes Emily is lying to get back at him for his pranks but he when he put his attention back on Emily, he saw tears in her eyes.

"Mia doesn't know it's the baby causing her trouble right now." Emily cried. "What if she doesn't survive Mike? I can't lose my sister especially after we just found each other again! What if I become pregnant like her? Our Earth and forest powers are just as powerful as Kevin and Mia's water and wind."

Mike gently rubbed Emily's back. "No what if's Emily. Mia will survive. Kevin and the rest of us will make sure that the first baby of the nineteenth samurai generation is born with Mia alive, rocking her in her arms."

"And I will get to be an auntie?"

"Yes, and you will get to be an auntie."


	11. Terry and The Healing Symbol

"What are you smiling at?" Cody could see his girlfriend spying at him by the door as he put up an _It's A Girl_ banner on the ceiling. Lauren and Cody have been dating for a while so it's only natural that they made their relationship official. Lauren invited him to the surprise baby shower they were throwing for Mia so he could get to know her family better.

"Nothing…" Lauren replied back. Cody just chuckled. "Thanks for helping with the decorations by the way. This place looks really great."

"No problem, just being a gentleman for your special friend. You all seem to protect her a lot. Why is that anyways?"

"We're family, it's what we do. Her pregnancy hasn't been going too well either so we're scared for her. We've already been through so much together. We don't want to see anything bad happen to her."

"I think you guys have a nice family bond. It's very heartwarming to watch. I wish my family was like that."

_Ding-Dong!_

"I'll get it." Lauren went to get the door. She wondered who would be there because all of the samurais including Catherine have a key but she answered the door anyways thinking they may have forgotten it. To her surprise, a young Asian that didn't look any older than twenty was standing in front of her. "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm Terry." Terry extended his right hand to shake hers. "You must be Lauren. I've heard so much about you." Lauren gave him a confused look. "I'm Mia's brother."

"Oh, come in. We're setting up the party right now." Lauren welcomed him in. She didn't know Terry or even knew Mia had a younger brother. She wasn't there at the time. Apparently she and Jayden and the Earth sisters weren't the only ones with siblings.

"I'm super excited my sister is having a baby. She's going to be an excellent mother."

"I'm sure you are. You get to be an excellent uncle." Lauren gave him a smile until she saw Emily searching through the samurai books. She didn't want Mia's younger brother knowing his sister might not even make it through birth. She already told Emily and Serena against Ji's wishes. "Um, can you go help Emily's sister, Serena with the cake? I need to check up on Emily. Wedding jitters, you know?"

"Yeah, I'll give you ladies some privacy."

"Find anything yet?" Lauren asked the yellow samurai.

Emily screamed and dropped the book in her hand. "Lauren, I thought you were Mia for a second!"

"Sorry I startled you. How is the book search going?" Lauren handed her back the book. Mia's health was really starting to worry Emily and Lauren. Nothing too serious has happened yet. They still couldn't take that for granted. Mia insisted she's feeling well but Kevin would differ. Kevin has been telling them that Mia comes home weaker than usual.

"I can't find anything!" Emily threw the book, almost hitting Ji in the head. "My bad, I didn't see you there!"

"It's alright Emily." Ji took a glance at the title of the book; _Healing Symbol Power._ "What are you girls doing with this book? Do you know how dangerous healing power is? It could kill you in minutes!"

"We just want to help Mia." Lauren whispered.

Ji sighed. They weren't making this any easier for him. He cared a lot about Mia too. She did a mighty good job as the pink samurai. She also became a very good friend outside of the pink spandex too. Ji knew she wanted the average family life with kids and magnets on the fridge. Her sudden pregnancy with a water baby did not help that dream come true.

"Sit down and listen." Ji commanded them. "We don't know what's going to happen to Mia because previous rangers before you never…mated, right?" Lauren and Emily nodded their heads. "It is said that there is a rumor from many years ago that two of the samurais at the time got together and the female of course got pregnant. She almost died when she started to lean toward her seventh month. Her spouse and the other rangers used a black flower to save her. The black flower is in the forest beyond the Shiba House somewhere. No one knows where it is. It's impossible to find." Ji flipped through the book for a certain page and showed the girls. "Hope it not but if Mia doesn't survive, I will allow both of you to use this healing symbol."

"I guess we have some practicing to do then." Lauren said.

"Not now, today you will enjoy Mia's baby shower. Understood?"

Lauren and Emily frowned but accepted the circumstances.

* * *

"Kevin, I'm okay!" Mia tried to convince Kevin she could get in the car herself but he ignored her. He kept on saying how she shouldn't be pushing herself and it was getting on her nerves and making her very frustrated. Once Kevin got Mia in her seat with a fight, he got into the driver's seat and began to make his way to the Shiba House. Mia noticed he wasn't going home. "You missed the turn home."

"I know." Kevin responded.

"I don't feel like going over Jayden's house today. I'm tired."

"Have some water." Kevin handed her a large container with water. "It will make you feel better."

Mia stared at the size of the bottle in shock. "You can't be serious. Kevin, what are you doing with so much water? You work at the pool."

"You can never have too much water. At least drink some…for the baby" Kevin didn't want to use the baby as an excuse but he needed her to drink more water to keep up with the baby's strength.

Mia rolled her eyes and drank the water. It makes her feel better even though she didn't know why. "I miss Terry." She said randomly. Her brother has been on her mind lately. Terry has been so busy with medical school that he doesn't visit Mia often anymore.

"You'll see Terry soon."

"You always say that."

"I mean it this time."


	12. Baby Shower Gone Wrong

_Thanks for the reviews! I got major writer's block while typing this so I was going to call this chapter "Little Chit-Chat" but then I got this awesome idea so…it's not called that._

"SURPRISE!"

Mia looked around the room happily. A couple of weeks ago she told Lauren she wanted a surprise baby shower and Lauren made sure she got it. She saw food, gifts wrapped in pink, all of her girlfriends, mother, guy friends (who weren't staying), and the same crib she saw at the store with Kevin.

"A crib?" Mia gasped. "Who got me this?"

"That would be me." Terry said from behind Emily.

"Double surprise!" Emily shouted and pushed Terry in front of her so Mia could tackle him in loving hugs and kisses. She was the one to search for Terry's number and call him and force him to come to his sister's first baby shower. As a younger sibling herself, the moment between the wind siblings was very touching to her.

"Congratulations Sis." Terry tells Mia once she stops embracing him. "I know this is what you've always wanted."

* * *

"How did you get my brother's phone number?" Mia asks Emily later during the shower.

"I just stole your cell phone when you weren't looking." Emily shrugged like it was nothing, consumed in her cupcake. "It's very easy to take someone's phone when they don't remember to pick up their purse at a bridal shop."

Mia rolled her eyes. Her mind was on her little slip up that she forgot about her purse when she went to use the restroom. "Well, thanks anyways. Speaking of bridal shops, have you and Mike decided on a date for the wedding? I don't want to go down the aisle looking past my due date."

"It's going to be on the twentieth of March, the first day of spring." Emily confirmed. "It will be a garden wedding with many flowers and the reception will be outside too so I'm hoping for weather with the sun out."

"You just had to be the one in this generation of samurai to get the Earth powers." Serena said, shaking her head. "I'm buying a ton of sun screen."

"I think it's a lovely idea." Mia's mother, Erika added to the wedding talk. "When Kevin's father had his wedding, it was on a beach. Mike's father made sure he had his wedding in the forest before _Breaking Dawn_ did." Erika laughed at the different samurai weddings she went to when she was still an active ranger. "I'm glad you chose a garden. The previous forest wedding had too much bugs."

"I wonder what it's like to be a samurai…" Catherine thought out loud. When Ji told her he was the samurai's mentor, it was a confusing conversation but she still accepted it.

Lauren chuckled at her mother figure. "Trust me, symbol power is crazy. We're the only generation that found a way to keep our powers without our morphers but that doesn't matter right now." Lauren jumped out her seat, grabbed a pink bag, and gave it to Mia. "You haven't opened my present yet."

Mia took the gift gladly. She searched through the bag and got out a mini samurai training costume with matching black sneakers. "Aw! I love the pink and blue touch."

"Since she's both, I figured I would mix the two colors."

"It's cute. Thanks, I should get Kevin to put these in the car." Mia got up on wobbly feet. Lauren and Emily gave her a scared look. "I'm fine, geez, not you too." Mia assured them just as her vision got blurry and she fainted.

"Go get Ji." Catherine told Lauren panicked. Lauren didn't even hear Catherine. She was already running to the kitchen.

"Ji!" Lauren screamed from the hallway.

"What is it Lauren?" Ji answered. It sounded important. Lauren wouldn't have screamed for him like that if it wasn't.

Lauren dragged him down the hallway to the baby shower. "Hurry, Mia just fainted a while ago."

The other samurai men and Cody were talking outside by the grill in all smiles until they heard noise coming from inside the house.

"What are the girls doing that's so loud?" Antonio gave them a questioning look. "It doesn't sound too good."

Almost right on cue, Lauren ran outside out of breath. Running around the Shiba House is not an easy task. Cody gave her a comforting hug. "What's going on? Isn't the baby shower okay?"

Lauren shook her head. She wanted to cry but she tried to keep her posture. She stared at all the boys, landing her attention on Kevin and Terry. "Mia's not doing well. She just fainted."

"She what?" Terry shouted. He and the others got to the shower, to see Emily playing with her fingers nervously. "Where's Mia?"

"She's in the room next to the dojo." Emily told him."Be quiet though, Ji is helping her." Terry nodded.

Mike walked over to his fiancée and put his arms around her. He knew how much this situation terrified Emily. If this is how Mia's pregnancy is going to go then Emily doesn't want a single dose of it. Mike wanted to have children with Emily except he had to admit Mia fainting didn't make it any better. Mike just sighed and kissed Emily.

"It's okay, everything is going to be okay." Mike took her in his arms.

* * *

"Shouldn't you guys be taking her to the hospital?" Cody asked Lauren on the porch. Lauren shook her head in response. It was getting dark out. The drama that took place a couple hours ago began to calm. Lauren still didn't want to go back inside the house. "Why not? It would make things less difficult for your old man there."

"Ji can handle it." Lauren picked on the grass by her feet. "He's trained in medicine. Catherine is too." She continued to pick on the grass, deep in thought. She wish she could tell Cody about her secret samurai life. It would be simpler to explain Mia's condition to him.

"I still think you should bring her to the hospital." Lauren didn't respond. "I'm a good listener. You can tell me anything." Lauren pulled on the grass harder and Cody took her hand to make her stop. "What did the poor grass do to you?"

"Stop, I'm not in the mood to talk Cody!" Lauren shouted angrily. She ripped her hand away from Cody. Her hands caught on fire through symbol power and burned him. "I'm so sorry! Let me get you some ice!" Lauren went into the house to get a bag of ice for Cody's burnt hand. She didn't mean to burn him. She got so mad she couldn't control her powers. She once burned Jayden. It didn't affect him though because he's a fire samurai too. So many things were going through her head. What was Cody thinking? His girlfriend just made fire appear out of nowhere.

Lauren walked back outside and cooled Cody hand with the bag. Cody flinched. "Is it bad? I'm so, so sorry I took my anger out on you."

Cody took the bag of ice and stared at Lauren. If looks could kill, Lauren would be long gone. "What just happened? You made fire come out of your hands. Do you take magic at school too?"

"Please don't be mad." Lauren held her head in her arms. "I haven't been completely honest with you…"

"What do you mean? I thought we told each other everything."

"…I'm the female red ranger." Lauren whispered. "Jayden is also the red ranger. Mia is pink, Kevin is blue, Emily is yellow, Mike is green, and Antonio is gold. We're the Power Rangers. Ji is our mentor."

"You're the what? Why didn't you tell me Lauren?"

"I couldn't! I never wanted to keep it from you!"

Cody got up and threw the ice bag on her lap. "Yeah? Well, you did keep it from me! Is it because you couldn't trust me to keep your secret?"

"No, it's not because of that…I…I don't… don't know." Lauren stuttered.

"Wow, my own girlfriend doesn't trust me." Cody got his car keys. "I'm leaving."

"No! Please don't leave Cody!" Lauren pleaded to him with tears in her eyes. "Don't leave!" Cody refused to listen to her. He got into his vehicle and drove off.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Lauren let out a piercing scream. The fire started to steam out of her palms again. Kevin walked out to check on whoever screamed. He was surprise to see the grass next to Lauren on fire. He used symbol power and sprayed the grass and Lauren's hands with water. "What are you doing here? Doesn't Mia need you?"

"Mia's resting right now." Kevin shook his head. "I'm more concerned about you. Where's Cody?"

"I think he just broke up with me…"

_Woo! This chapter was challenging! I hope you liked it. If you didn't, please review and tell me how I can improve! :)_


	13. Trying to Feel Better

Jayden strummed on his guitar softly on the porch. He had nothing else to do. He didn't have any classes to get to until later in the day. After last night's drama, nearly everyone left the house. Kevin and Erika stayed at the Shiba house to watch over Mia (who is feeling better). Terry said he had to go but will be back later. Catherine and Ji went home after caring for Mia. Emily and Mike also went home. Serena had to get back to the countryside to help her parents with the farm. Antonio went to work. Lauren only got out of bed to use the bathroom and get a slice of toast that she called breakfast. She claimed she's depressed and isn't speaking to anyone.

"Hi Jayden, how are you?" Emily walked up to him in the pathway. She held two large notepads in her arms with two paint brushes.

"Hey Emily." Jayden greeted her. "I'm doing okay, how about you?"

"I'm bored! Mike left me and went to work so I came here to hang out with you and Lauren." She showed him the notepads and paint brushes.

"What's with the notepads?"

"I figured since Mia fainted yesterday, Lauren and I could start practicing on the healing symbol today. Where is Lauren anyways?"

"Sorry Em, but Lauren isn't in the mood today. She and Cody had a little fallout last night. Mia is feeling better though, I'm sure she'd love to see you."

Emily frowned in disappointment. "Okay, I guess I'll go see Mia then." Emily passed Jayden to open the front door. The Shiba house was abnormally quiet. Just when she was going knock on Mia's door, she heard talking coming from the other side.

"Ji told me what's going on, you know." Mia said to Kevin. She sat up in bed and rubbed her stomach gently. "You don't have to hide it from me anymore. I can't believe all of you guys knew and didn't tell me. We could've prevented last night's accident from happening."

"I'm sorry baby." Kevin kissed his wife's hand. "We just didn't want to worry you."

"What is wrong with Mia?" Erika asked. "Am I missing something here?"

"The baby is getting stronger by the weeks." Kevin said. "It has my water powers and its hurting Mia very, very badly."

"So you're saying my future granddaughter could possibly be…"

"Killing your daughter…" Kevin swallowed the lump in his throat. He's in the process of losing his one and only love. The person that makes him feel like life is worth living everyday when he wakes up in the morning.

Erika started to pace the room. "This is too much for me to take in. I should've known about the elements mixing between samurais."

Mia got out of bed to hug her mother. "I'm going to be okay Mom." She sobbed. She wished she had known sooner that the baby hurting her but now she knew why they kept it secret from her. She doesn't know what to do now that the word is out. Should she keep working at the daycare? Kids are a lot of trouble to take care of. What if her fall had just been a onetime thing? Some pregnant women did experience fainting during their pregnancy. Many thoughts including those spun through Mia's head.

Mia pulled away from her mother. She gathered up a few of her baby's gifts from the ground. "Help me pack the car Kevin. I want to start setting up the nursery today."

Erika opened the door, almost hitting Emily. "Excuse me Emily." Erika pushed pass Emily with Kevin carrying the crib Terry got for his niece on the way.

"You're going home?" Emily asked Mia.

"Yeah, we'll talk later." Mia sighed. "I just don't want to be here right now."

"Okay…" Emily hugged her sister goodbye. She kept her notepads and paint brushes close to her chest and went to find Lauren. She heard everything going on in the room. Surely she couldn't be too depressed that she didn't want to save Mia.

"Lauren, get out of bed!" Emily dropped her stuff on the floor and began to jump on Lauren's bed. "Don't tell me I have to go through the same thing I go through at home with Mike."

"Emily, stop!" Lauren cried from under her bed sheets. Emily did as she was told and stopped. She pushed the sheets off of Lauren. Lauren looked like she got lost in a tornado. Her hair was a huge mess. Her face was as red from her hard crying. Emily climbed into the bed and lay next to her.

"What happened? Why are you so sad today?" Emily grabbed her tissue from the bed stand. Lauren's mouth started to quiver again. "Please don't cry."

"Cody left me!" Lauren busted into tears. She buried her head into her pillow.

"Why?"

"I never told him we were rangers until yesterday. I haven't been honest to him. Now he's mad at me because he thinks I don't trust him!"

"Have you tried calling him?" Emily combed the hair in Lauren face with her fingers. "Maybe he just needed time for it to sink in. Being a samurai's boyfriend is a lot to ask for."

"He won't pick up his phone." Lauren groaned.

"First time break ups are tough, huh?" Emily hopped off the bed and waved the paint brushes in the air. "Can we at least practice the healing symbol? I got cool new brushes at the dollar store. We can get more. Buy one, get one free."

Lauren wiped her tears in her pajama sleeve and smiled. "Really? Is the red one for me?"

"Yeah…"

"Cheap brushes aren't going to make me feel better!" Lauren once again, dove into her sheets and buried her head with her pillow.

"This is going to be a long day." Emily grumbled.

* * *

"Welcome to the Garci…Cody?" Antonio looked at his latest customer's face. He didn't expect to see Cody at his restaurant. He would actually be the last person he would expect there especially after what happened between him and Lauren.

"I didn't know you were a waiter too." Cody exchanged the same confused expression on Antonio's face.

"Not really, I like to be in the kitchen sometimes frying up fish." Antonio sat across from Cody casually. He messed up his relationship with Lauren, not him. "This is my family's restaurant. My old room was about two stories up from this table upstairs." He pointed to the ceiling to show Cody.

Cody nodded slightly at who he now knew is the gold samurai. He felt like he was meeting someone new like Antonio needed special treatment. It didn't seem Antonio really mind that Lauren shared his secret identity with him. He tried to relax. Antonio isn't angry at him.

"What happened to your hand?" Antonio gestured to Cody's bandaged hand. Lauren never explained the full break up to him.

"Lauren burnt it."

"Yeah, she does that." Antonio chuckled. "You know, you really hurt her. She's been crying all day."

"She hurt me too." Cody shrugged.

"I understand but you are her first boyfriend. Can you maybe talk about it with her? She's never been though a break up…or burnt anyone except Jayden by accident."

"I guess I'll think about it. I make no promises and I was never here."

"Got it, I won't breathe a word to Lauren."

"Do you have any fish fillet here?" Cody rubbed his bandaged hand.

Antonio gave him a grin and wrote down his order. "Coming right up amigo!"

_And there is the new chapter! Thanks for the reviews! A special thanks to PRSforever for your multiple reviews! You're awesome! :)_


	14. Wedding Jitters

_Freakin' writer's block…Thanks for the reviews and follows as usual!_

Even though there was drama going on with the fire and wind samurais, the girls still found a way to bounce back for Mike and Emily's fast approaching wedding. Emily, Lauren, Mia and Serena were the spending her bachelorette party on a nice windy day at a cafe outside. Emily never wanted a huge party. It's not like she had many bridesmaids and other girlfriends to invite anyways. Lauren said she asked Catherine if she would like to come but she said she couldn't make it.

"I'm having a great time and don't get me wrong but why aren't we having lunch at that restaurant you and Jayden like so much?" Emily asked Lauren. She heard about the fancy restaurant so much that she was a little disappointed that the Shiba siblings still didn't take her there. She loved the simple life but she also liked a little something extravagant once in a while.

"Ugh, I don't even want to hear about that restaurant." Lauren stated blandly while cleaning her sunglasses in her sundress ignoring Emily's shocked stare. "Sorry boo, it's just that's where I met C...Co…you know who I'm talking about. It's been almost two weeks. I guess its official. We aren't getting back to together."

"We! Are never ever…" Emily sang loudly until Serena covered her mouth with her hand.

"Don't you dare start with me." Serena glared playfully. Lauren giggled at the sisters and glanced at Mia who isn't smiling. She seemed irritated as she spoke on the phone to Kevin.

"I'm fine Kevin." Mia told Kevin through the phone repeatedly. "You need to stop fussing over me. Have some fun with the guys. If anything happens, hope it not, I'm positive Emily, Lauren, and Serena will at least bring me home or to the hospital. Yes, I'm drinking plenty of water. Do I need to take a video of myself? You're being difficult."

Lauren rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from Mia. "Hey Kevin. What? No, I won't put Mia back on the phone. You're stressing her out. Go have another drink or something. Tell Jayden to stay away from strippers for me." Lauren laughed and tossed back the phone to Mia. "He hung up. No wonder you married him. He's fun to mess with." Mia laughed with her and shook her head.

"Strippers?" Emily's mouth dropped open at Lauren's naughty comments.

"It's okay Em, I'm sure Mike and the boys aren't having _that_ much fun." Serena assured her sister.

"You guys suck." Emily stuck out her tongue at them.

"I love you too." Serena said, stealing food from Emily's plate. "You hardly touched your food Emily."

Emily shrugged. "I'm not that hungry."

"You know that's a lie Emily." Mia could read Emily like an open book. "Why aren't you eating? If anybody is going to be taking off weight for the wedding, it's me."

"I'm getting married in less than three days." Emily whispered. "I'm scared. I'm only nineteen and he's twenty-two. What if Mike gets tired of me? What if I'm not good enough anymore? What if we… we… div…"

"Don't say that Emily." Lauren told her. "You two are way too good for each other to do that." Lauren didn't know Emily and Mike from the start but when she moved back in the Shiba house, she could see how they stared at one another when they thought no one was watching or how they played silly games and goofed off during training. Mike and Emily have always been the hyper ones in the house, ready to do something _normal _people called weird or crazy. They are the perfect match.

Mia nodded in agreement to Lauren's statement. "Kevin and I's wedding went great. We're still together three years later and expecting. I had butterflies in my stomach before marrying Kevin but it soon went away once I saw him waiting for me by the alter when I was walking down the aisle. I had a few boyfriends in high school. They weren't as sweet as Kevin." Mia paused, unsure how to say the next part of her speech. She never knew she would be the one to tell Emily these things before her mother. "Admit it, when we were younger, we never wanted anything to do with fighting the nighlok but… what if the nighlok never existed? I would never replace any of you not even for all the money in the world. If Mike does then that's his problem."

* * *

Towards the end of the day, as the sun set, Mike, Antonio, Kevin, and Jayden walked the docks by the beach. They had a simple bachelor party similar to the girls'. They decided not to be too formal and went to the Garcia's Seafood Restaurant for lunch. The girls said they were going to the spa after lunch so they played volleyball and some other games on the beach. They didn't mind waiting for the girls to finish up their Girl's Night Out.

"Jayden?" Mike looked at Jayden.

"Yeah?" Jayden answered.

"You met all of our parents when you were younger, right?" Jayden nodded. He didn't know why Mike would ask him a question like that but he listened. "Do you think Emily's parents like me?"

Jayden gave him a confused look. "Of course, haven't you already met her parents?"

"Well, yeah but..."

"But?"

"Her dad is kind of scary and don't even get me started on her samurai mom. She has the eyes of a hawk."

"You should have been there when Mia's parents spoke to me." Kevin chuckled at the memory. The first time he met the Wantanabe's went great but when it came to before the wedding, their relationship altered in that one moment. "I almost pissed myself. Girls always have over-protective fathers. You'll eventually warm up to them again."

"Aw, is the almighty green ranger scared of yellow's parents?" Antonio teased. Jayden laughed at the comment. He and Antonio didn't mean any harm especially since they're still single. They've never seen Mike so terrified in his life.

"I remember one time I broke one of her mom's necklaces." Jayden joined Antonio's teasing. "Ji had to hold her back from hurting me."

"Dudes, you're not helping!" Mike exclaimed.

"You know they're just kidding with you Mike." Kevin told him. "Everything is going to be fine. It's normal for you to be nervous about the special day. Remember when I couldn't stop sweating the night before my wedding?" Mike nodded. "I love Mia because she knows how to deal with my flaws. She doesn't care that I measure how much cereal I eat or fold my socks. What I like about Emily is that she's the same way. She knows how to keep up with your pranks and refusal to wake up in the morning. I couldn't be happier to see her cleaning up your chocolate mess in the kitchen when you were late for work. You know why? She had a smile on her face. Actually, she was laughing her butt off. When you left, she told me that you messed up a lot in your relationship but it just makes you both stronger."

_It's a beautiful night. We're looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. – Marry You by Bruno Mars._

_I couldn't help but listen to that song while I typed this chapter. I think I did a pretty good job on the wedding speeches for a single teenager. What do you think?_


	15. Samurai Wedding Part I

_Hey! I only used her name once but just so you know Vanessa is Lauren and Jayden's birth mother's name. Some of you may know that from my "Lauren's Christmas Spirit" fanfic. If you didn't, now you do :)_

"You don't have your dress on yet?" Emily's mother, Brittany entered the hotel room, disappointed to see her daughter's dress still lying on the back of a chair. Emily decided to get ready at a hotel because it was the only place closest to the garden she was having her wedding. The bridesmaids were all running around with beauty supplies in hand, tripping over high heel shoes scattered on the ground. Brittany had never seen so much chaos since well, Mia's wedding. "The limo is arriving in about forty-five minutes girls. You need to hurry!"

"Lauren?" Catherine called her daughter-figure in the bathroom. "Can you tell Emily to stop brushing her teeth before she bleeds? She got her teeth whitened yesterday." The blue eyed woman turned around to see Brittany standing there awkwardly. "You must be Brittany. I'm Catherine, Ji's wife."

They shook hands and Catherine led her to the bathroom where Emily was trying to rinse the toothpaste out her mouth while Lauren wrestled to curl the loose ends in her hair.

"Emy?" Brittany pushed her way into the doorway of the small bathroom.

"Emily, quit moving!" Lauren told Emily. "You're getting the strands of hair I already curled in the water…OW!" Emily dashed to her mother's embraced, knocking the curling iron out of Lauren's hand, causing it to burn her. Lauren inspected the burn on her finger and sighed. "So this is why Cody was so pissed at me."

"MOM!" Emily squeezed her mother tightly. "I'm freaking out right now! Where's Mike's mom?"

"Breathe Emy." Brittany soothed her daughter. "You need to breathe. Hilary is with the flower girls getting them ready in the other room with Serena." She saw Mike's mother, Hilary, dressing Mike's twin cousins in their flower girl dresses with Serena before coming to check on Emily and the other bridesmaids. Brittany combed through Emily's hair with difficulty and looked at Lauren with a smirk. "I thought you would at least get Vanessa's graceful hands. I'll take care of her hair."

"Haha, you're so funny." Lauren rolled her eyes and passed Brittany the curling iron. The fire samurai walked out of the bathroom, giving Emily a moment with her mother. She got her makeup kit and made her way to Mia, who was fanning herself in a chair by the balcony. "How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant." Mia said. "I feel awful." She rubbed her stomach and spoke to her daughter; "Why can't you calm down today? Mommy doesn't feel well. Do you want Mommy to pass out at Auntie Emily's wedding?"

Lauren reached for Mia's shoes and helped her get them on. She gave Mia a sympathetic look. Mia tried to give Lauren a little smile in gratitude with helping her put on her shoes. Lauren could see how weak Mia was getting in her eyes every passing week in her pregnancy. "Emily and I have already started learning the healing symbol. Once she gets back from her honeymoon in Jamaica, we're going to practice again and again until it's perfect. We're going to help. You just have to hang in there."

"Thanks…you're going to use a healing symbol? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, it's the only way." Mia frowned. "Don't give me that look Mia. There is no reason for you worry about Emily and I. We can take care of ourselves."

"Okay." Mia whispered. She didn't like the idea of her sisters putting their lives on hold or worst to save her own life but it doesn't seem that Emily and Lauren are going to argue with her any farther.

"You should take a little nap. We have about half an hour left until the limo arrives." Lauren left Mia to rest and walked over to the dresser next to Catherine so she could finish her makeup.

"Well, you look stunning." Catherine complimented, straightening Lauren's blue bridesmaid dress around her hips.

"Thanks Mom, but no one is going to look as great as Emily."

"You'll get your chance one day to be in a white dress. I'm sure you will." Catherine smiled brightly at the laughter she heard coming from the bathroom. "Soon enough, that will be us getting ready for your big day in such joy." When Catherine first started dating Ji, she never thought about having kids (or young adults that call her mom). She has already gotten to the age where she can't have any children. Her brothers had children older than Lauren that are married. They enjoyed giving away their daughters on their wedding day. Catherine always had a soft spot for the Shiba siblings. She could never imagine losing so much family in such little time at a young age. She hopes one day, Ji will have the honors of giving away Lauren and being by Jayden's side when they find that special someone.

"You're the best." Lauren kissed Catherine's cheek.

"La, la, la…" Emily came walking out the bathroom with her fingers in her ear and her mother following close by in a fit of laughter. "I don't want to hear anymore."

"It wasn't that bad Emy." Brittany said, grabbing Emily's dress off of the chair back. "Come on, time to put on the dress."

Mia opened her eye lids slightly. She didn't fall asleep yet. She's been listening to all the conversation going on in the room. One thing she would not miss is her little sister putting on her dress. Emily mentioned how beautiful she looked on her wedding day when her mom helped her with her dress. Right on cue, Serena and Hilary came in with the flower girls in their arms. They both looked tired.

"These girls are really part of the forest family." Serena ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "Phew, they refuse to sit and make me do their hair."

"I'm sowwy, Sewena." The twin in Serena's arm apologized.

"Me too!" The other twin agreed.

"It's alright little ones." Serena told them.

"Good job girls." Hilary said. Her sister in law said the three years old girls did have a bad habit of disobeying especially when keeping quiet so they could get dressed. Hilary watched Emily twist her hips in her dress. "You've grown since the last time I've seen you."

"You're telling me." Brittany nodded. She fixed Emily's floral veil around her head. "My baby girl is growing up."

"You better strut your stuff." Mia snapped her finger with attitude. Emily flashed her hair down the hotel room's walkway, giggling. "Work it!" Mia and the other women giggled themselves but stopped when they heard knocking on the door.

"Hello? Are you ladies decent?" Everyone's eyes widened. William, Emily and Serena's father was at the door. "I can come back later."

"I'll go get it." Brittany spoke up. Emily exchanged glances with Lauren and then Mia.

"You're going to do great." Mia assured her. "My feet hurt from all those wedding rehearsals so this better be worth it."

* * *

Mike paced the garden. There were many on top of many samurais, samurai guardians, samurai mentors, and anyone that had anything to do with the samurais as well as people that got caught into the samurai life through marriage like his mother, Hilary attending the ceremony. It was always a big deal when a samurai got married. Kevin and Mia's wedding was just as big except they had their wedding at the beach. Ji and Catherine didn't make a huge fuss out of their wedding. Ji is just a samurai mentor. His wedding didn't need to be huge anyways. Mike's wedding on the other hand is huge, massive if you will. Almost like a smaller version of a royal wedding ceremony. What if he messes up his vow? What if he vomits on Emily's dress? He was so excited when he woke up, that he couldn't eat breakfast.

"Mike, you have to stop pacing like that before you dig a hole in the ground." Kevin told him. He's been watching him pace for a good fifteen minutes. He got a little irritated but reminded himself to keep calm especially since he's Mike's best man and he was just as nervous on his wedding day.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Mike snapped. Mike quickly noticed his mistake and apologized.

"Everything is going to be fine." Jayden said.

"Easy for you to say, you know half of the people here."

Jayden shook his head. Mike isn't listening to anybody and he was making himself quite clear. He looked around the garden. Everything seemed to be in order until he saw the parking lot. A polished, silver convertible drove in and Cody stepped out. He appeared to be in a rush, jogging over to Mike and the other men.

"I hope I'm not late." Cody fixed his tie. Mike invited him to the wedding and even made him a groomsman before he and Lauren split the night of Mia's baby shower. Since his absence at the Shiba house, no one really bothered contacting him. If he didn't show, it wouldn't matter but now that he's back (and just in time), they might as well make good use of him in the wedding.

"I see you took my advice." Antonio commented. "Lauren is going to freak but trust me, she'll take you back in a heartbeat. She will finally stop cursing at me every night about what a jackass you are."

"I'll take that as a good thing then." Cody chuckled. He took a good look at the people getting settled in their seats, gossiping about whatever was going on in their lives. He even saw Antonio's parents, who he met back at their restaurant. He could tell everyone there was a samurai or knew a samurai or knew a guy who knew a samurai. The samurai family has a very close bond. It's amazing how they've kept their samurai lives so secret that no one found out unless marriage was in the question. This made him feel out of place. "So…I'm not saying that I'm going to marry Lauren or anytime soon but if I was, this is what the ceremony would look like?"

"My parents asked the same thing." Antonio laughed at Cody's confused expression. "Yup, this is how it goes. You marry a samurai, you have to meet all of these people. At least, anyone Lauren knows."

"And most of these people are Power Rangers…?"

"Well, we prefer the term samurai now that the nighlok are gone but…Yes, everyone here is a member of the samurai family."

"Holy crap…" Cody glanced at Kevin, who was trying endlessly to get Mike to stop moving so he wouldn't drown his tuxedo in sweat before Emily comes down the aisle. "This is crazy."

"You haven't seen crazy yet." Jayden waved his hand at a little boy completely bored as his father talked to the people around him. When Jayden called him, he picked up a pillow with the wedding rings placed on it and raced over to him.

"I still have the rings!" He said.

"I know you do Cody. We trust you." Jayden ruffled the younger Cody's hair. "Cody meet the youngest samurai guardian, Cody. Cody this is a friend of Lauren's, Cody.

"What's up little man?" The eldest Cody asked him. "Are you excited for the wedding?"

"I just want it to start!" The (BullZord) guardian Cody replied. "I can't wait to get out of this tux."

Jayden and Antonio grinned at the two Cody's conversation. They were sure to keep each other company until the ceremony started. Antonio had to finish getting people seated and Jayden needed to help Kevin stop Mike from pacing so much. Hopefully all that's taking part in the wedding is on time especially Emily. Mike doesn't care if a flying monkey falls from the sky in the middle of the aisle. Emily has to make it.

_I think I overused the word "samurai". Lol, I called this The Samurai Family for a reason. You are all invited to the wedding! Even though I haven't started typing the chapter yet and I don't know if it will be as long as this chapter… Anyways, please review! :D_


	16. Samurai Wedding Part II

_Hey wedding guest and uninvited exes! I hope I did this right… I attempted to make this descriptive because, well, I love weddings. Processionals don't have much speaking in it anyways unless it's whispers from the guest :P_

_Fun fact: Did you know Hector David Jr., a.k.a. the Green Samurai's name used to be Hector David Rivera Jr. but he dropped Rivera from his name because he wanted something of his own? Yeah… You'll see why I told you that._

* * *

Everything was in order for the processional to begin. The well-watered garden's flowers bloomed just in time for the first day of spring and Mike and Emily's wedding. The weather wasn't too hot or too cold. Some women at the wedding preferred a sundress while others chose dresses that swept the ground unless they rather have dress pants or a skirt and some men unbuttoned their tuxedo jackets.

Whatever they're wearing, they're all seated in white silk covered chairs with floral decorations on each end of the rows. The lake behind the wedding officiant and Mike moved calmly in the wind. A country club was visible on the other side of the lake. Strangers on jet skis that went to the club drove pass Mike waving a hello. He grinned slightly, the good spirits made him feel more at ease. People working at the country club are probably setting up his reception right now. A small flower fell from the floral arch onto the officiant's shoulder. He brushed it off and looked at Mike.

"Are you ready?" The officiant asked him.

"I'm more ready than I've ever been." Mike replied. He felt very confident now that the music started to play for the bridesmaids and groomsmen. He flattened his tuxedo and took a deep breath. This is it. There is no turning back.

All of the guests turned their heads to the top of the aisle to see the first bridesmaid and groomsman, Lauren and Cody, but instead they got Ji and Catherine. They shrugged off the misunderstanding and paid them the respect they deserved. Ji ditched his usual kimono for a black tuxedo. Catherine was usually a classy woman. She rarely wore pants. Her dark blue dress with baby blue in the middle just made her more graceful. Her thick, brown hair that reached her rear end had curls at the bottom with a few on the top of her head in a bun. While the eldest couple walked down the aisle, Lauren was trying her best not to punch Cody.

"What the hell are you doing here you jerk?" Lauren whispered through her teeth. Cody backed up a little. He knew if they weren't at a wedding right now, Lauren would be shouting at him from the top of her lungs. He wouldn't have blamed her if she did, Cody didn't even bother to call and give her a heads up that he was coming to the ceremony.

"Hey, calm down." Cody told her. "There are children here, you know. I'm sorry. I woke up late and forgot to call."

"Why did you even bother to come in the first place?"

"I promised Emily I would come. I don't break my promises Lauren." Cody hooked his arm with hers. Ji and Catherine were almost at the altar. "Besides, I missed _my girlfriend_. You look great."

Lauren softened her expression and placed her arm into his. Cody always knew how to sweet-talk her. She picked up her flower banquet she threw on the ground in shock from seeing Cody and gave him one final look before walking down the aisle. "We'll talk about this later."

Lauren walked down the aisle like nothing just happened. Her blonde hair curled into a small bun with some strands left alone on her back. Her dark blue dress covered her feet. Lighter shades of blue in the middle of the dress moved with her gentle movements. Everyone seemed relieved to see Lauren happy and well. Every samurai knew Lauren. How could they not? She's the head of the Shiba Clan. A few people gave her a slight wave or nod. Cody did his hair in attempt to look good for the samurais. He started to feel out of place again. No one knew who he was except some who heard rumors of Lauren dating a guy (who isn't a samurai). If Lauren decided to work their relationship out with him, then hopefully at the reception, Lauren could introduce him to some people. They got to the end of the aisle and parted like Ji and Catherine did.

Next, Serena went down to the altar with Jayden and Antonio as her escorts. Emily and Mike chose uneven people but it wasn't so bad that pairing up couldn't help. Serena's hair was shorter than Lauren's. Her blonde hair was in a bun too except she had two strands in the front of her face. Her dark blue dress blew in the wind, beating on Antonio and Jayden's black trousers, revealing the lighter shades of blue down her torso. Once they got to the end, they parted to their places at the altar like the other bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Back at the beginning of the aisle, the matron of honor and best man were making their way to the altar. Mia and Kevin smiled at the guest warmly. They smiled back. Kevin's black suit was ironed sharply. Mia's dark blue dress flowed swiftly in the wind. Her six months pregnant body showed off her growing belly in the light shades of blue down the middle of the dress. It wasn't often she curled her naturally black, straight hair. She just curled it because Emily asked her too. Her and Kevin parted and went to their assigned spots at the end of the aisle. Kevin stood right beside Mike and Mia sat in a chair next to Emily's spot. She was supposed to be standing but because of her samurai pregnancy problems, she had to sit. Everyone knew Mia had a thing for perfect weddings but she did what she had to do for her and the baby's sake. At least until Emily and her father came.

For anyone that loves children, their favorite part of the processional began. Guardian Cody, also the ring bearer for the time being, held a white pillow with Mike and Emily's wedding rings attached to it in both of his hands. Cody was a little older than the average ring bearer age. His pace down the aisle was a bit faster than his elders that walked before him and his hands trembled. Since he's almost a preteen, his knowledge was good enough to understand the importance of the expensive rings. His nervousness got him some "Awes" and "You go Cody". The samurais love Cody. He's intelligent for his age especially since another guardian, that was once a young guardian, home-schools him. Cody got to the altar and stood where he's assigned to.

The forest twin girls made their way to the end of the aisle with a bounce in their step. Even though they give trouble like any other three years old child, they loved to dress up. Their dresses are dark blue with blues that got lighter every ruffle down to their knees. They're small hands picked up the flowers out of their white baskets and dropped them onto the aisle like they were told to do at the wedding rehearsal. The guests gave them "Adorable" and "Cute". The little girls got to the altar giggling, where Lauren helped them get to where they needed to be.

The moment everyone has been waiting for was here, Emily and her father, William, are standing at the top of the aisle. All of the guests including Mia stood up; staring at Emily once "Here Comes the Bride" started to play. Emily hooked her arm into her father's and looked at him.

"You picked a wonderful man Emily." William kissed the top of her head. "You make me so proud."

Emily's polished pumps stepped out of her gown as she took her first, delicate step. Her strapless, white gown was very big with a long train in the back. Mike watched Emily lovingly. His princess was walking closer and closer to him. Emily's gorgeous gown had tiny diamonds creating a design around her chest area down to her hips. The fabric around her hips was a silky white with more tiny diamonds but not too much to take away the sophisticated elegance in the plain white. Emily's blonde hair was curled like her bridesmaids without a bun. Her curls were left wildly in the breeze with her floral veil catching them. William got to the altar and unhooked his arm from Emily's and gave her and her groom a grin before taking a seat next to Brittany.

The wedding officiant pushed up his glasses and turned to the crowd. "Welcome, friends, family, and loved ones. We are gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Emily and Michael…"

The officiant went on with his readings. Emily and Mike listened carefully while staring into each other's eyes. When the officiant finished reading, the young couple exchanged their thoughtful vows that claimed their love for one another.

"May I have the rings please?" Cody stepped forward, offering the rings. The Earth and forest families watched as Emily and Mike exchanged their rings, reciting another vow.

"If any of you has reasons why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." No one dared to move or say a word. "Do you, Michael Hector Rivera, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do." Mike nodded.

"And do you, Emily Anne Pirtle, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." Emily agreed.

"By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Mike and Emily heard the magic words and kissed each other deeply. There were many cheers for the newly married couple. Mike held Emily bridal style and gave her another kiss.

"I love you." Mike said.

"I love you too." Emily nodded.

Mike walked his wife back to the top of the aisle with the bridal party behind them dancing blissfully.

_I hope you like this chapter. Please review! I'd love to hear what you think! :D_


	17. After Wedding Sickness

_Thanks so much for the reviews! Now that the wedding is out of the way (sad face), it's time to get back to other stuff going on in this story…_

After a great evening at a country club for their wedding reception, the newlyweds found themselves on their honeymoon in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. There were many other places Mike and Emily could go but they found Jamaica most interesting. They told their parents and friends goodbye for now and got on the plane. When they landed, a taxi driver picked them up at the airport and brought them to a hotel they would be staying for a week.

Mike took off his shirt and stared out the open window. The smell of the blue fresh sea salt water hit his face. He was so distracted; he didn't hear Emily sneaking up behind him. Emily used her towel to cover his eyes. "Guess who." Emily whispered in Mike's ear.

"Is it my wife, Mrs. Rivera?" Mike took the towel off his eyes and pulled in Emily for a deep kiss. He captured Emily's beauty in her bikini before kissing her again. "Has anyone ever told you how sexy you look in a bikini?" Emily giggled softly and buried her face into his neck. "Just you and I, on this beautiful island, away from anyone and anything that can hurt us…" Emily pushed away and gave him a frown. "What's the matter?"

"Do you think Lauren and Mia will be okay until I'm back? Lauren and I are the only ones practicing the symbol. You saw Mia at the wedding. She couldn't stand on her own two feet for five minutes."

"Mia has about three months left." Mike brushed the hair in her face to the back and gave her a grin. "She's surrounded by doctors anyways. She lives down the street from a hospital, Catherine is a nurse, Ji is technically a nurse too with many friends and back up, and Terry has been in medical school for three years now. Trust me, Mia's got everyone on her side."

Emily hesitated at first but nodded. Mia does have a lot of medical people to watch out for her. She put the thought of Mia possibly giving birth prematurely to the back of her head and grabbed her towel. "Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Mike got his towel too and chased after his wife.

* * *

In the wind and water samurai's living room, Mia held her phone in her hands, moving the apps on the home screen. She couldn't get herself to call the daycare and tell them she can't work with them anymore. Ji told her about the samurai from decades ago that almost died on her seventh month of pregnancy. The story terrified her. She just started her sixth month. Is it really that impossible to find the black flower? The black flower can be used as a medicine to heal her and can also be preserved until Emily needs it. Mike is an expert at the forest around the Shiba house. She would have confidence in him to retrieve it for her. If he found it then Lauren and Emily's wouldn't have to risk their own lives. Mia sighed and tossed her phone onto the other side of the couch. She doesn't know what to do.

"I made your favorite." Kevin said as he walked into the room. He placed a tray of food on the table in front of the couch. Then, he turned on the television. "I also got your favorite movie channel for the weekend." Kevin got extra cushions and lifted Mia's legs on them. "Are you cold?" Mia didn't have a chance to answer before Kevin spread a pink blanket on her torso. The blue samurai was about to adjust the pillows behind Mia's head but she grabbed his wrist.

"I know you're my husband and you agreed to that in sickness and in health stuff but… _why_ are being so kind right now?" Mia asked him.

"I can't be kind at a random time to my wife." Kevin held up his hand defensively. Mia raised her eyebrow. Kevin sighed and took her hand. "I know you don't want to think about… the worst-case scenario and… that's fine with me. That's great. Happiness is the best medicine… I think Lauren and Emily know what they're doing too. They're awesome samurais. It's not that I don't trust them or think they aren't good enough…"

"What are you talking about Kevin?"

"I…we need to start preparing for the worst."

"Kevin, I'm okay. You need to stop fussing over me."

"I'm tired of you saying that Mia. You and I both know this isn't going to be easy." He let his warm palm settle on Mia's stomach. "She's coming fast. She's coming faster than three months. Your body can't handle the water symbol powers. I'm sorry honey but you have to accept this."

A tear dripped down Mia's face. She's been ignoring the fact that her baby can kill her the whole time. Every time someone brought it up, she would pretend as if it wasn't affecting her the way they thought it was affecting her especially for Kevin. He doesn't know she wakes up in the middle of the night and grabs onto all the furniture to get to the bathroom safely. Once she got to the bathroom, she would of course do her business. After that she cries. In the morning before Kevin goes to work, he makes her breakfast in bed and jokes with her until it's time for him to go. During those times, Mia puts on her best smile to trick him into thinking she's alright. In reality, she's starting to feel pain. She fears she might go into labor soon. She hopes not, just because her body is giving up, doesn't mean her baby is strong enough to live after birth.

"Knock, knock!" Terry opened the door with his spare keys. He came in wearing his book bag, wearing scrubs. He just got back from school. The sad faces in the room indicated to him something bad is going on. "What? You're not happy to see me?"

"I'm always happy to see you Terry." Mia wiped her tears. "What's up?"

Terry pulled out a baby names book from his bag. "Well, I figured since you told me you're not naming my niece Terryonna, I'd get you this."

"Lucy?" Kevin asked Mia as he flipped through the book. "Cassandra?"

"Thanks Terry, I really needed one." Mia forced herself to let out a small smile. She and Kevin haven't spoken to each other about a name for their daughter yet. Even though Kevin just told her a minute ago that something could go terribly wrong in the future, naming the child now couldn't do any harm.

* * *

Lauren cleaned the table on the patio with a cloth. Now that spring has arrived, they would be using it much more than they did in the colder months. Antonio loved grilling his fish. It wouldn't be a bad idea to clean it up for him. She finished scrubbing the table and sat down for a break. She picked up her water bottle and drank it as she took a look around the yard proudly. The trees were growing back nicely after being destroyed in the Netherworld's sanzu water. Then she directed her attention to the parking lot. Not surprising, both of the fire siblings bought red cars and… a convertible? That isn't Antonio. Lauren rolled her eyes. It's Cody. They never got to work out their issues since they were so distracted by the events going on at the wedding reception.

"A rose for my beautiful lady." Cody gave her a red rose.

"Don't do that." Lauren pushed away the rose. "You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

"_No_…" Cody waved off. He sat next to Lauren. "Okay, so I'm still a little mad. I'll admit that I overreacted a little though. I felt betrayed. My last girlfriend used my trust against me and lied all the time and… it doesn't matter. It was a nasty break-up. Antonio told me you never wanted to lie to me. I understand why you kept your secret now. I'm sorry I left you without allowing you to explain yourself."

Lauren stared at Cody in shock. Did Cody just apologize to her? She shook her head. "I forgive you. I'm sorry too."

Cody opened his mouth to say something but Lauren's cell phone cut him off. Lauren spoke on the phone for a while. Her concerned facial expressions made him know something is wrong. She got up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Is everything okay?" Cody asked her.

"That was Jayden."

Cody gave her a confused look and pointed to one of the red cars in the driveway. "Couldn't he just walk out here to you?"

"He's been sick all morning. You don't mind me checking on him, do you?"

"Not if you don't mind me following you." Cody wrapped his arm around Lauren's and walked with her to Jayden's room. Once they got there, Lauren broke away from his reach and opened window.

"It smells like Antonio after fishing for hours at the lake in here." Lauren said. Jayden grumbled and shielded his eyes with his blankets from the sun's rays. Lauren crouched down to Jayden's level next to his bed and shook her head at his pitiful face. "You called for Dr. Lauren? I hope you understand the risks because I'm studying law, not medicine."

"I don't think I have cold anymore." Jayden said in a hoarse voice.

"No dip, Jay." Lauren placed her hand on his forehead. "You're burning up." Jayden smirked weakly. "And not just because you're a fire samurai." She pulled out a thermometer from her brother's desk and told him to open his mouth so she could put it in. She took out the thermometer after a short while passed and read it. "_Well_, that's not a pretty number."

Cody, deciding he wasn't going to sit on the sidelines awkwardly all day; he walked over to Lauren and read the thermometer. He hissed. "That's not good bro." He told Jayden.

"I think I need to bring him to the hospital." Lauren said.

"But doctors always want to tell someone they're dying." Jayden protested.

"Quit being a baby. You're going to live." Lauren helped her younger brother sit up in his bed.

"I'll drive." Cody held up his keys.

_Like it? Dislike it? Rushed it? Needs improvement? Please Review! :D_

_Oh, and have you guys ever heard The Secret by Steven Skyler (Antonio)? 'Cuz ya should :P  
_


	18. Hospitals, Mangoes, and Baby Names

_Thanks so, so much for the reviews! You all rock! :D_

"Jayden? Lauren?" Antonio called his housemates. "Is anyone home? Guess not…" He just got home from work and apparently, the Shibas aren't home. They wouldn't just get up and leave without telling him. He walked back out to the porch and dialed Jayden's cell phone number. It rang until it went to his voicemail. _"That's odd." _Antonio thought. He tried Lauren's phone. Fortunately, she answered.

"Where are you guys at?" Antonio asked Lauren.

"_Jayden's fever got too high so Cody and I took him to the hospital."_

"Oh man, that sucks. No wait, did you say Cody? Aw, did you two get back together?" Antonio was secretly part of Cody taking Lauren back.

"_Yeah… shut up. Do you think you can stay with Jayden in an hour or two? I have classes."_

"Sure, I have nothing to do for the rest of the day anyways." Antonio hung up his phone.

At the hospital, Lauren glared at Jayden. He has been complaining the whole time about how much he hates hospitals and wants to go home and that his big sister should stop being mean to him because he has terrible headache.

"Will you quit whining already?" Lauren placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm not whining." Jayden coughed. He was lying in a hospital bed, playing with the bandage on his arm. The doctor ran a couple of test on him to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be.

"These are the times that I'm thankful to be an only child." Cody said.

Lauren rolled her eyes. She cared a lot about her brother all though she wasn't showing it right now. She was only seven years old and Jayden was three when they were separated. Since she was so young she never got the chance to actually get to know Jayden. Even after three years of being reunited, she still didn't know him well.

"Good afternoon, how is everyone?" The doctor walked in, glanced on his clipboard, and gave the people in the room a grin. "I got the tests back."

"How much time does he have left?" Lauren asked him concerned. It was obvious she was joking with him.

"Oh, I would say he has a lot of time left." The doctor chuckled. "All of his vitals are okay and his fever isn't as high than when he first arrived. There should be nothing to worry about."

"Too bad, I could've turned his room into another closet." Lauren smirked at Jayden.

"Yeah, yeah, when can I leave?" Jayden ignored his sister's comment. He hated hospitals. Whenever he was sick or injured, Ji took care of him. He appreciated Lauren for her help though, she has no medical knowledge so the hospital is the best she could do.

"You should be able to leave about right now." The doctor gave Lauren a piece of paper. "I suggest getting him these medications. They should help with that nasty cough." He turned back to his patient. "Stay hydrated, wash hands often, get plenty of rest, and you should be better by the end of the week. It seems like you have a good sister here to take care of you." The doctor chuckled again.

"Hell no." Lauren laughed. She ruffled her weak brother's hair and gave him a smile then she helped him stand up. "Come on, I have to check on Mia and go to school."

* * *

On the beaches and vacation resorts in Ocho Rios, Mike took off his sunglasses and stretched his arms. He sat on his green towel on a lounge chair and watched many people from all around the world play at the resort. Emily said she was going to get them something to eat. He turned his head to see her walking towards him excitedly. "Hey Em, did…" Mike got cut off with a piece of fruit Emily shoved in his mouth. His eyes lit up in delight as he took a bite of the fruit. "What's this?"

"It's a mango!" Emily told him, taking a bite of her mango as well. "It's an East Indian Mango to be exact." For a girl from the countryside of town in the United States, she loved learning about different countries and cultures.

"This is like heaven in a ball… oval, thing." Mike analyzed the shape of the fruit in his hand.

Emily crawled onto Mike's lap and rested her head on his shoulders. The couple soaked up the sun's rays in silence, eating there mangoes. They were relaxed and all of their stresses in the world are gone. Emily looked out to the beach where she saw a family of five horseback riding. She couldn't contain her happiness. She hasn't been on a horse since she moved in with Mike in the city. The Earth samurai nudged her husband.

"Mike, I want to ride a horse on the beach." She pointed to the family she saw in the distance.

"I will do anything for my wife on our amazing honeymoon." Mike kissed her neck.

* * *

"Diana?"

"Hayley?"

"Jennifer?"

"Amelia?"

"Keke?"

"Miya?"

"I'm telling you guys, Terryonna is not a bad name." Terry suggested to them from the kitchen where he was making himself a sandwich. Since he brought a baby names book home, his older sister and brother-in-law have been calling out random names for hours. They were starting to drive him up the wall. He didn't know they were going to take it this seriously yet.

"Terryonna actually isn't that bad." Mia tapped her pencil eraser on her mouth. "It could be a middle name."

"We'll add it to the list." Kevin shrugged and wrote down the name on a long list in his notebook. He and Mia couldn't decide on a perfect name. They needed a name that would last their daughter at least until she was eighteen and could have the choice in changing it (which they hoped not).

"Chanel? Like the French designer, _Coco Chanel_?"

"If we name her Chanel, then we might as well name her _Fergie_ too." Mia frowned. "I'm just kidding with you, honey." Kevin rubbed her foot on his stomach. "You know what I think?"

"Hm?"

"We should get you a wheelchair."

"No!" Mia exclaimed. Her feet aren't broken or paralyzed as far as she knows.

"It'll be easier for you to move around when I'm not home." Mia might be ill but the bills don't pay themselves. Kevin has to go to work and can't be home to help Mia get from place to place. When he isn't home, Mia promised to stay off her fragile feet unless she needed something. He told her hours ago, they have to start preparing for the worst. He can't trust her on her own like when she was five months pregnant (the same time she started to experience weakness from the baby).

"No Kevin, you're never getting me into a wheelchair." Mia huffed.

"Is it because you're embarrassed? It will only be for at home use if that's what you would like." Kevin assured her. He knows it was a touchy subject for someone when they are forced into a wheelchair. He just doesn't want to see his wife hurt.

"I'm not embarrassed." Mia lied.

"You can wear your favorite pink high heels again like when you just found out you were pregnant." He tickled her feet in attempt to make Mia giggle and convince her to get a wheelchair.

"Well… I do miss my heels." She looked down at her feet that Kevin is massaging in between tickles. "I will get one… for you. I might not like the idea but I need to make scarifies for the baby."

"I love you and…" Kevin picked back up the baby names book. "...Layla?"

"Kayla?"


	19. Memories, Busy, and Souvenirs

_Short-ish chapter… Anybody want to name this chapter for me? I don't know what to name it. Oh, and can you guys check out the poll on my profile? It's really quick and random._

Mia wheeled herself to the kitchen. She told Terry about Kevin's suggestion and it didn't take him too long to get his older sister a wheelchair. He and Kevin felt better knowing Mia could get around the house without any help. The wheelchair also reduced her chances of collapsing. If Mia collapsed, especially with no one home to come to her aid, Terry and Kevin would have a big problem on their hands.

Mia crossed off another day on the calendar on the fridge with a marker. She and her daughter survived another week. Beside the calendar was a picture of her two months pregnant, stomach barely showing, next to a group of children. They all wore paper Native American headdresses for Thanksgiving at the daycare. Mia allowed herself to smile a little at the picture. Her smile soon turned into a frown. She finally got the courage to call her boss at the daycare and tell them she was leaving. She was going to leave sooner or later. Not only does she have a child of her own to care for but she also has to finish culinary school.

Next to the picture of her at the daycare is another picture taken four years ago when she just became a pink samurai ranger. Mia never knew that Jayden had a sister or that Emily had a sister, and come to think of it, she never told them about her brother. It was her very first day at the Shiba house. Little did she know that she would meet her Prince Charming there. Honestly, Kevin made her raise her eyebrow a couple of times during their first months as rangers with his strict "Samurai Diet". Eventually, though, she found his dieting cute in a silly kind of way. After a year of living with Kevin, Mia grew a huge crush on the blue samurai ranger. Kevin then asked her on a date and not too long after that he asked her to marry him. Mia and Kevin never wasted any time planning their wedding. On the one month anniversary of defeating Master Xandred, they officially tied the knot.

Now, she's pregnant with his first child. It's a good thing Lauren and Jayden got the team back together. If they didn't, she would have no idea what's going on with her body right now. Mia rubbed her belly gently just thinking about how lucky she is to have her friends. What would happen to her if she didn't know her baby was hurting her? If she had a partner with no samurai powers in the "love making" process then she would have a normal pregnancy. But Mia kept that in the back of her head. She wouldn't trade having Kevin's daughter for all the money in the world.

The wind samurai wheeled to her daughter's nursery and looked around. Everything is in place for her arrival. Mia sighed. Her unborn daughter is more prepared for birth than she is. Exhausted didn't even begin to explain how sick and tired she is of being sick and tired.

"We have three more months little one…" Mia told her daughter. "Just three more months…"

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Lauren came in carrying a tray with a bowl of soup. She placed the tray on his lap and combed her fingers through her messy blonde hair. She also fixed her Ray Ban glasses on her head and pulled her pencil skirt down. She looked like a hot mess. It's been an interesting day for her.

"Long day?" Jayden questioned his sister's wardrobe malfunction. He could see how tired she was in her eyes.

"You're telling me." Lauren sat on his bed. "I've been up since three in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I went to school, checked up on Mia, went out for lunch with Cody…"

"Is that why your skirt is so short?"

Lauren rolled her eyes and continued. "…did some grocery shopping, picked up Antonio from work because his car is at the shop, watered Mike and Emily's plants, and in between those errands, I have been taking care of you. You're welcome."

"At least you have people to keep you on your toes." Jayden chuckled.

"To be honest, I kind of like it." Lauren is rich. She doesn't even need a job but she wants to have one. She loves to move around and keep herself busy. She got up to get a thermometer off of Jayden's nightstand. "You still haven't answered my question. How are you feeling?" Before Jayden could reply, Lauren stuck the thermometer his mouth and took it out after a few seconds. "You don't have a fever anymore."

"I'm feeling better Lauren. Thanks for taking care of me like always." Jayden picked up his spoon and drank some of his soup. "You can go now."

"Are you sure? I can stay until you finish eating or turn on your TV for you or get your school books. I heard you have a big exam coming up."

"No, now you're just being a little creepy. I'm okay, go take care of yourself."

"Okay, baby brother." Lauren walked to the door and turned back around. "Don't burn yourself. The soup is still very hot and I don't want to have to bring you back to the hospital…"

"Go Lauren."

"Fine but I'll be back."

* * *

"Look at this cute beret with the Rasta colors." Emily said, trying on a beret. "Antonio would love this." Emily and Mike had two days left on their trip so they were going to various gift shops to get their friends and family traveling souvenirs.

"Nice Em, but it can't be as cool as this t-shirt." Mike held up a t-shirt with a humorous logo on it.

"Haha, Mia asked me to bring her back some beaded necklaces and bracelets." She picked up jewelry that hung from her fingers loosely. "What about these?"

"Those aren't that bad." Mike replied. "I think we have something for everyone now."

The newlyweds went to the cashier to pay for their things and walked out the store. Mike got out his map of Ocho Rios and searched for directions back to the resort. Emily looked around mindlessly with the occasional hello to a passing stranger. The city is beautiful and everyone is smiling. She heard some wild laughter and saw a group of men stepping out a liquor shop. She smirked.

"Mike, we should get a bottle of rum." Emily suggested.

"You're too young to drink."

"Back home, duh, not in Jamaica, though. I passed the drinking age here." Emily kissed his cheek. "Pretty please, just one bottle. You said you would get me anything on our honeymoon."

"Okay, okay, just one bottle." Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You're not as innocent as you seem sometimes, you know."

"But you love it."

"But I love it."


	20. Unwelcome Home Memily

_20 chapters? 50 reviews? Freakin' crap! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows!_

"Welcome Home Memily?" Cody questioned the banner hanging above the arch in the gateway. The samurais including Cody are setting up a welcome back party for Mike and Emily. He and Lauren took charge of the decoration on the patio. Antonio grilled fish while Jayden handed him the ingredients he needs to cook his meal. Jayden still coughed occasionally but he felt better (if he didn't, Lauren would've tucked him into bed with fifty blankets). Mia, Kevin, Ji, and Catherine were all inside the house cooking food that couldn't be grilled and baking sweets.

"I heard people do it with celebrity couples." Lauren told him. "I thought it would be cute to give them a couple name too."

"So what would our couple name be?"

"Um, maybe it would be Lody or Cauren?" Lauren and Cody exchanged strange expressions and laughed. "Let's just stick to Lauren and Cody."

"Aw, why can't we be Cody and Lauren?"

"Cody and Lauren sound weird."

"Lauren and Cody sound weird."

"Cody and Lauren in general are both weird and should flirt somewhere else." Antonio said from the grill.

"Ha, he said Cody and Lauren." The couple chuckled at each other. They haven't been very romantic since they got back together but things were going smoothly lately now that Lauren could tell him anything about herself and trust him enough to not share the details about her samurai life. Cody took her hand and guided her to a tree. "I don't remember you showing me around this forest property of yours."

"It's not that special." Lauren stated with a shrug. "You didn't expect the samurais to remain a secret in the city, did you?"

"I guess not." Cody walked closer into the forest around the Shiba house but Lauren pulled him back. "What?"

"My parents are buried on this side." Lauren looked down at her shoes. Cody nodded in understanding. In the past few months he's known Lauren, he can tell she's very sensitive when it comes to family. His parents are divorced but he still sees both of them. Lauren doesn't get to see her parents at all.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault."

"No, it's okay. You didn't know." Lauren smiled and dragged him to the other side of the forest. "There's a lake on this side."

Mia frosted the cupcakes on the kitchen table quietly until her arms gave up. She felt so useless. All parts of her body felt weak. She couldn't do anything longer than ten minutes. Her feet couldn't hold her up anymore. She stayed in the wheelchair even though she only wanted it for at home use. Lauren and Jayden never made a big deal out if it and pushed some furniture out her way so she can get by easier.

"Look at this hilarious photo Lauren just sent to me of Cody attempting to canoe in the lake." Kevin showed his wife a picture on his phone of Cody soaking wet in a canoe.

"Funny, they seem to be having a great time." Mia replied bluntly, not making eye contact with Kevin.

"Are you alright honey?" Kevin cupped his hand on Mia's cheek and forced her to look at him. "Do you want to go outside for a break? We can bring out the plates and utensils for Antonio. I'm sure he's ready for them anyways."

"I don't want to go outside."

"Then, what do you want to do? I'm trying to make you happy Mia. But you keep on rejecting my offers. I haven't seen you smile all week. I miss your smile baby. I really do."

Mia groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Can you ask Jayden for a fan? I'm going to take a nap." She grabbed her wheels and left the kitchen. She's irritated and doesn't want to speak. She felt bad for treating her husband the way she did but she couldn't contain her emotions.

"She'll come around eventually sweetheart." Catherine squeezed Kevin's shoulder. "I'll go get her a fan."

Kevin nodded. He got plates from Ji and walked out to the picnic table outside.

"What's up amigo?" Antonio took the plates from Kevin and placed his cooked fish on it. "Where's Mia? Emily and Mike's plane landed an hour ago. They just called me and said they're on their way here."

"She went to take a nap." Kevin grumbled. "I was only trying to help. Her stress isn't good for the baby and herself."

"Maybe she needs some room right now." Jayden said. "You and I both know how angry Mia gets when people keep on bothering her about the same thing over and over again."

Kevin sighed. Jayden's statement didn't make him feel any better.

Back in the house, Catherine draped a thin blanket over Mia's body and turned on the fan she requested. "Do you need anything else darling?"

"No, thank you Catherine." Mia closed her weary eyes.

"Okay…call me if you need anything darling. Would you like me to wake you when Mike and Emily arrive?"

"No."

"Alright, but don't hesitate to call me or anyone. Can you promise me that?"

"Yes, I promise." Mia told her in a whisper, too consumed in her sleep to care about what Catherine is asking her. Catherine shook her head and brushed Mia's black hair out of her face with a fragile hand.

She shut the door behind her quietly and went back to the kitchen. Ji stopped running water on the dishes when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are you sure there is nothing we can do for Mia now?"

"You too?" All of the samurais have been bugging him day and night about Mia's condition. They asked if they could use the healing symbol now, if getting Mia more vitamins will help her, and if there is a way to get Mia's wind element stronger. The questions are driving him crazy. He doesn't know the answer to them. He's never had to take care of a pregnant samurai except Vanessa Shiba when she was pregnant with Lauren and Jayden but her pregnancy was normal. Unlike Mia, Vanessa wasn't a samurai with powers.

"What do you mean by you too?" Catherine asked him. "We're worried for Mia. I don't even think she is as worried for herself as we are for her. She's going to be seven months pregnant in a week and a half. Doesn't that concern you?"

"Of course it does Cathy. I care about all of the samurai's well-being. They're like my own children to me. There is nothing I can do for Mia right now. She has to fight this herself until the time is right."

"When will the time be right? Emily and Lauren have almost perfected the healing symbol."

"Lauren and Emily can't use the healing symbol until…until Mia gives birth. Using the symbol after she gives birth will probably be easier."

"But we don't know if she will even make it to birth." Catherine looked into Ji's eyes. He just shrugged. "Whatever Ji, I can hear Emily attacking people outside. Let's go say hi."

Catherine and Ji made their way to the porch to see Emily bouncing like she usually does.

"Welcome back…oomph!" Lauren got pulled into a huge hug and then got pushed away.

"Ew, you're wet!" Emily told Lauren.

"That's what she said." Cody wrapped his arms around Lauren. After he fell out of the canoe and into the lake, he rocked the canoe to the point where Lauren couldn't hold on and she fell in the lake too.

"Hey Kevin, how's the wife?" Mike asked Kevin. He gave him a small bag. "We got you guys' souvenirs."

"Oh yeah, where is Mia?" Emily pulled out a small pink and blue tie-dyed teddy bear from her bag. "I got the bun in the oven a gift too."

"Um…Mia is taking a nap." Kevin gave Catherine a worried look. Emily saw the saddened expressions on everyone's faces when Mike and she asked about Mia. Emily frowned, she knew something was wrong. She ran in the house and searched all the rooms until she found the room Mia was resting in.

Mike chased after his wife and almost bumped into her at the door frame. Emily was frozen solid staring at Mia's resting form. The first thing Emily noticed is the wheelchair next to the bed. Her heart began to race. All of her good spirits washed away in a minute. She began to cry, she couldn't take it. Mia looked so frail and pale. Emily dropped Mia and her niece's souvenirs. She ran to the dojo and locked herself in there. She cried so loudly that it woke Mia.

Mike picked up the bag Emily dropped on the ground. He cursed under his breath. Does he help Emily or Mia? He sat on Mia's bed. Mia opened her eyes slightly. "Mike?"

"Hey Pinkie, how are you?" Mike gave her the pink and blue teddy bear. "Emily and I got our niece a bear."

"What? Oh, thanks." Mia groaned and accepted her daughter's gift. The rude awakening from her nap did not make her headache better. "Who's crying? Where's Emily?"

"I don't know if you noticed but Emily hasn't been taking your…illness very well."

Mia raised her eyebrow. "You didn't answer my questions."

"Emily came in here a few seconds ago and freaked out."

"Really?" Mia tried to pull herself out of body but Mike pushed her back into her pillow.

"I will talk to her. I'll bring her to you."

_Like it? Dislike it? Needs Improvement? Sound off in the review box!_


	21. Godparents

_Random Fact Time!_

_Erika Fong (Mia) is Chinese and Korean. I personally think she is a very beautiful woman :)_

_Hehe, maybe I should do this every chapter…Here's the new chapter! It's short. -Sigh- Hope you enjoy!_

"Emily, calm down!" Lauren told Emily. She came in the house just to get a towel for her wet hair but Emily's loud crying drew her into the dojo instead of her bathroom. Lauren watched the poor girl search the room helplessly for the _Healing Symbol Power _book. "Emy, please listen to me. You cannot do the symbol right now. It's too dangerous. You're probably still jet-lagged."

"I don't care!" Emily fell to her knees and turned her head to Lauren. "I want to save my sister!"

"I know." Lauren hugged Emily. "I want to save her too but we have to wait. What got you into this crying fit anyways? Did Mia say something? She's been in a cranky mood lately. We think it's the wheelchair."

"No, I left the room before she woke up. Why is she in a wheelchair?"

"Well, there is no point in lying to you." Lauren sighed. "Mia's condition has gotten much worse in the week you were gone. She can't stand, all of her muscles are tired, she barely sleeps at night which is why she was sleeping now, and it's been chaos. She's crankier than my mother when she was pregnant with Jayden."

"I missed a lot in just a week. Vacation time is over, huh?" Emily wiped her tears.

"Yeah, welcome home. I should've warned you about Mia ahead of time."

"Em?" Mike knocked on the door. "Are you alright? Mia wants to speak to us."

Emily looked at Lauren. She nodded her head. "Go speak to Mia."

Emily dragged her feet to Mia's room with Mike following her. When she got there Mia was sitting up in bed giving her a smile while she rubbed her tired eyes. The pink and blue teddy bear was on her lap and beaded necklace was around her neck but the wheelchair was nowhere in sight. Mia noticed her looking around the room for the chair. She gestured to the closet. "Since it scares you, I got Mike to put it in there so you don't have to see it." Her voice was soft and delicate.

"I'll have to see it again soon…" Emily lowered her head.

"But not right now." Mia told her. "You're not used to seeing it, I'm not used to being in it, and it's just a depressing seat overall." She shrugged and patted on her bed where Emily could sit and patted on the spot next to it where Mike could sit. The couple sat next to Mia and she gave them another smile. "How was the honeymoon?"

"It was great?" Mike said, unsure why Mia would ask that question out of the blue. Since she made them sit so close to her, he was almost certain she was going to give them a serious talk.

"Yeah…there is lots of sun, beaches, and mangoes." Emily added on to what her husband said.

"I love mangoes. They're my favorite fruit." She hugged the pink and blue teddy bear close to her chest. "This is so cute… Ow!" Mia rubbed her stomach gently after her daughter kicked her. "I think she likes it already."

"She tough just like her mommy already too." Emily giggled.

"I don't feel very tough right now."

"Hang in there Mia." Mike encouraged her.

"I don't want to hear that anymore." Mia shook her head. "I'm terrified. I'm so sick and tired. You can't imagine. I don't know how much longer my body is going to keep this baby… I don't know if I will live or die. If I… If I pass, I don't want Kevin to raise this child alone. He loves his job and he has friends outside of the Samurai Family and babies need a lot of attention and…" Mia sighed. She looked at Emily and Mike directly in the eyes. "Do you guys want to be the godparents? And/or be the ones to take her in if something happens to Kevin and I? I mean… it's a choice. You don't have to. I can ask someone else like Lauren or…"

"Mia, we would love to be the godparents." Emily answered for both her and Mike.

"Really?"

"Of course, we would go to the ends of the world for our first and favorite niece." Mike nodded. She still has a several weeks left to go before she can see the world but Mike as well as the other samurais and Kevin and Mia's families already grew a great love for the unborn samurai. They don't want to see anything bad happen to her.

"You guys are the best!" Mia opened her arms. "Come on, bring it in. Hug me!" Emily and Mike hugged the pink samurai lovingly but she pushed them away. She sniffed Emily and covered her nose. "Why do you smell like liquor?"

"I, um, uh, coming Antonio!" Emily ran out the room.

"He's not even…" Mia turned to Mike. "Mike, why does my little sister smell like alcohol?"

"She, um…" Mike scratched the back of his head and ran out the room like Emily. "Yes Kevin!"

"What am I going to do with those two?" Mia shook her head at the two. She tucked her daughter's teddy bear next to her in bed and closed her eyes. She wasn't planning on telling Mike and Emily she chose them as the godparents now or without Kevin (he would understand) but it seemed like the right time to say something. Hopefully, she could sleep in peace this time without interruptions.

* * *

Later in the day, everyone including Mia gathered out on the patio and grill, enjoying "Memily's Welcome Home Party". They ate, talked, laughed, sang, danced, and goofed off like they always do when they get together to celebrate something or just hang out. Mia enjoyed herself as much as she could. Her pregnancy pains were on and off. Right now they were off and she was going to take as much advantage as she could.

Emily laid her head on Mike shoulder as they sat on a large swing next to the Shiba house's front doors.

"So Em?"

"Yeah?"

"We're married now, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Now what?"

Emily laughed and planted a passionate kiss on Mike's lips.


	22. Aquanetta vs Breezie

_Random Fact Time!_

_Before Power Rangers: Samurai, Brittany Anne Pirtle (Emily) played a role as a background cheerleader in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and Bring It On: Fight to the Finish._

Mia stared at her alarm clock which read: _12:00AM_. It's official. She's seven months pregnant. Her heart raced. She shifted her head to look at Kevin who was sleeping. Slowly, she lifted her shaky hand and rested it on his hand. The wind samurai sighed. Kevin has only been asleep for two hours. He needs to go to work at eight o'clock. She hasn't slept at all and doesn't have a job anymore. She planned on quitting her job at the daycare anyways to finish culinary school so it wasn't a big deal for now (she would eventually have to get another job). And speaking of culinary school, the semester ended. So Mia has nothing to do except get a couple more baby supplies, maybe read her pregnancy and baby books a little more, and that was it.

Mia read the alarm clock again: _12:30AM_. She squeezed Kevin hand. "Kevin, are you awake?" She shook him slightly. "Baby, wake up. Please?"

Kevin rolled over and shooed Mia's hand. "Do I need to call 119?" He grumbled.

"No… and you would call 911 not 119." Mia shook him again a little harder. "Wake up, it's important."

"Is it so important that it can't wait until morning?"

"Yes and it is morning. It's 12:31 to be exact." She got no reply from Kevin. All she got was a heavy snore. Mia kicked him as hard as she could. "Don't make me go Emily on you."

"Ow! You know, for a dying pregnant woman, you can kick really hard." Kevin glared at Mia. Mia looked hurt. He instantly regretted it and softened his expression once he realized what he just called her. "I'm sorry, you're not dy…"

"Its fine, I know you're just cranky from being pulled from your sleep." Mia told him. "But seriously, do you know what day it is now?"

"It's April thirteenth. Why do you ask?"

"I'm thirty weeks pregnant!"

"Explain…"

"I'm seven months pregnant, Kevin." Mia looked into his brown eyes. "Remember the story Ji told us about that samurai?"

"She lived…"

"So? Still, she almost died. Imagine that happening to me. The word terrified doesn't even match up to how scared I am anymore. I might as well make up a word to describe how I'm feeling."

"Why did you wake me up?" Kevin chuckled. He could understand his wife being scared. He would be scared too if he was in her shoes. But, really, she could talk to him whenever she wanted to and he would listen…except for midnight. He's tired and needs his beauty sleep.

"She needs a name. I would at least want to name our baby with you before it's too late."

"We can name her in the morning, honey."

"No! And for the last time, it is morning." Mia pouted. "I want to name her now. I'm bored and I can't sleep."

"I have to get up for work in a couple of hours. My swim team is a bunch of teens 14-17 years old. Do you know how needy and annoying they are? They all talk back and complain. And don't even get me started on the mixed gender classes."

"Can't you just have personal day off work? I'm sure they will understand. You said that your assistant is better at handling those kids than you sometimes. Besides, teenage girls are suckers when they see a grown gentleman taking care of his wife."

"I missed so many days last month."

"Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"I don't like cherries."

"Kevin!"

"Okay, okay, geez. But I'm not taking off anymore days this month. If things get bad then I will take you to Jayden or Ji's place. I need to work to pay the bills and pay for more baby stuff. Understood?"

"Yes, sweetie, I understand."

Kevin got out of bed and turned on the bedroom light. He left the room and went into the kitchen. Once he got there, he got the baby names book, his notebook with the list of potential names, and grabbed two bottles of water for him and Mia. The water samurai walked back to his bedroom that he shared with Mia and sat down on their bed.

Kevin put the items that he was carrying in the middle of the bed and looked at Mia. "The things I do for love."

"You're doing a good thing." Mia smiled. She picked up the naming book. "Let's begin… Alicia?"

"We already wrote that one on the list." Kevin yawned.

"Oh, Nina?"

"No, it's too simple for me."

"I have been thinking that same thing lately." Mia placed the book back on the bed. "I want her to have a special name with meaning to it, maybe unique. We should try coming up with our own names."

"Like how Terry gave his name a girl ending to make Terryonna?"

"Yeah, like that. How about… Kevinisha?"

"Eh." Kevin shrugged. As much as he loved his name, the name Mia suggested just didn't have a "ring" in it that he's looking for. He took a long drink from his water bottle and screwed back on the cap. Naturally, he read the labeling on the bottle while screwing the cap back on. Usually, the labeling never meant much to him but this time, they gave him an idea. "We should name her after our elements. She is the first mixed elements samurai kid in a long time."

"That's a great idea." Mia said. "How exactly do we name her after our elements without making it sound cheesy? I don't think Winderena is such a hot name."

Kevin didn't say anything. That's a good point Mia brought up. He read the name of the water brand on his bottle and smirked. "Aqua isn't bad name. Not to me, I guess. We can just use synonyms for our element.

"Aqua? Aw, that's cute. We should add something to it though."

"Um, Aquanetta? We can call her Aqua for short."

"Perfect!" Mia exclaimed. She looked out the window and watched the cool night breeze move the tree leaves. "Wow, it sure is breezy outside. No wait… Breezy! That's it! We can name her Breezy! We can call her Bre for short." Kevin tilted his head. "What? Is it strange? We can spell it differently like B-r-e-e-z-i-e instead of using a y."

"I actually like it. It's catchy. It's just, now we have a problem."

"What could be the problem? We both came up with elemental names that we both like."

"Yeah, but whose name gets to be the first name? And what about middle name?"

"Well, for middle name, I was thinking about using Terryonna if that's okay with you."

"Terry will be pleased." Kevin nodded. "I want to use both of the names we made up. How does Aquanetta Breezie Terryonna De-Tiege sound to you?"

"Why use Aquanetta first? I think Breezie Aquanetta Terryonna De-Tiege sounds better." Mia defended her name.

"See? That's our problem."

"Maybe we can put our names together like Breezetta?"

"No, maybe Aqu… Aqua… I don't even know how to put Aqua in front of Breeze."

"Aqueeze." Mia giggled. She leaned into her pillow and yawned. She read the clock for the last time: _1:45AM_. "Thanks for staying up with me. I know you really didn't want to be up at a time like this but you helped me relax." She stretched her arms. "I'm tired now."

"It was worth it. We're inches closer to naming our daughter." Kevin grinned. He cleared the bed, tucked in Mia, turned off the bedroom light, and fell back asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

_Yes, Aquanetta is the name of Kiely Williams' character on The Cheetah Girls' movies :P_

_Special thanks to reviewer, Kenzie. Your last review made me so happy! :D_


	23. Terryonna and Mexico Invite

_Random Fact Time!_

_Steven Skyler (Antonio) is Thai and German. To me, he makes a good Latino for Power Rangers Samurai. Hehe, here's the new chapter!_

In the basement of Erika and her husband's house, Mia petted a small, grey pitbull's head on Terry's bed. The pitbull puppy, Casper, is Terry's pet dog that lives in his parents' basement with him. Ever since graduating high school, Terry wanted a change on how he lived so he ditched his room upstairs for his own man-cave in the basement. He couldn't afford an apartment for himself yet, so the basement would have to do. Besides, he can live there for free and even has his own bathroom down there. The only reasons he goes upstairs is for a little family time or food from the kitchen.

Casper jumped and tilted its head at Mia's belly. He could see a little lump lift from her skin. He didn't understand what was going on. Mia laughed at Casper's reaction to her daughter kicking her stomach. She turned to Terry, who was studying at his desk. "You should've seen Casper's reaction to Bre kicking me."

"Bre?" Terry questioned Mia. He spun his office chair to look at his sister. "You finally named her?"

"Not really, Kevin and I don't know if we should name her Breezie or Aquanetta. Breezie is for wind and Aquanetta is for water. If we name her Aquanetta, then her nickname will be Aqua." Mia explained to him.

Terry let the names sink in his head. He pictured himself holding his niece and calling her Aqua or Bre plus the full names. Then he pictured calling Aqua or Bre when she's thirteen. Both names seemed to fit well so he nodded his head in response.

"Which one do you think is better?" Mia asked him.

"I think both of them are nice. That's a toughie. Unless… you name her Terryonna, then problem solved."

"I am naming her Terryonna." Mia gave her brother a smile. "Terryonna is going to be her middle name."

"Are you for real?"

"Of course, why would I not name her after the best little brother in the world?"

"Gee, thanks sis." Terry was just joking when he first suggested the name but Mia seriously took the name into consideration. He's glad about that though. People usually name their children after their parents or grandparents.

"No need to thank me. You're special to me and I'm sure that you will be special to her."

"Stop being all soft and mushy, you're making me blush." Terry chuckled and spun back around in his chair to hide his blushing. He went back to studying and Mia continued to play with Casper.

The room was in complete silence for a good ten minutes until Mia got a headache. It wasn't a normal headache. This headache made her dizzy and her vision blurry. She took her hand off Casper and placed it on her stomach. She didn't feel her water break and although it's her first pregnancy, she was almost a hundred percent certain that she wasn't feeling contractions. But something didn't feel right. Her body began to ache and cramp. This wasn't normal.

"Terry, I don't feel good." Mia told him in a shaky voice.

Terry dropped his pencil and was immediately by Mia's side. He saw pain flash across her face. He had no idea what was going on. He didn't learn anything about pregnancy in school yet but he knew he was supposed to remain calm. The younger man did his best to make his sister comfortable on his bed.

"Can you describe to me how you feel?" Terry squeezed her hand. Mia looked like she was about to pass out.

"I don't know." Mia whispered. "I just feel funny."

Terry ran his fingers through his black hair. This is not how he intended on spending his day. "Okay, I'm going to go get mom and dad. Just, please stay awake."

"I'll try."

While Terry ran up the stairs to get his parents, Casper whined. He was only a puppy and he hated it when his master left him especially with someone he hardly knew. Casper wasn't dumb though, he could tell that there was something wrong with the stranger. He walked up to Mia's face slowly and licked it, hoping that it would make her feel better. Mia didn't react to him. He whined some more and laid next to her until his master returned.

* * *

"Another day, another pay." Antonio said. He was in the kitchen at the Garcia's Seafood Restaurant marking off a day on the calendar. "I need somewhere to travel." Antonio loved to travel the world. He travels to at least two or three countries a year.

"I heard that _niño_!" Anthony Garcia, Antonio's father responded. "Has your mother told you where we are going the beginning of May?"

"No, doesn't mom hate traveling?"

"Oh no, I heard someone say my name." Alycia Garcia walked by them with a big pot in her hands. "Are you boys talking about me? It better be good or you're both sleeping in the restaurant tonight."

"Yes we are talking about you." Anthony replied to his wife. "I can't believe you haven't told Antonio about what we are doing in May."

"Anthony! You can't keep quiet for a minute." Alycia shoved the pot into her husband's hands. "Go ahead and get this pot ready for me. I'll tell him about our plans since you mentioned it when you weren't supposed to."

"Alright, _calmarse_." Anthony took the pot and headed off to a different direction in the kitchen.

Alycia smiled at her son. "So, first off all, you and I both know that your grandmother on your father's side is getting pretty old." Antonio nodded. "Well, your aunt in Mexico City called me last week and said that she is throwing a _muy_ big family reunion party for her on Mother's Day. And guess what? We're invited!"

"We're going to Mexico!" Antonio's mouth dropped open. He's been to Mexico a few times growing up but it has been so long. He's excited to be going back.

"That's not even the good part." Alycia laughed at her son's facial expression. "You can invite Jayden and Lauren if you'd like. You're aunt and the rest of the family in Mexico is paying for our trip and she said we can bring a guest or two."

"Hey Antonio!"

Antonio grinned. He can hear Jayden and Lauren's voices outside of the kitchen. He kissed his mother's cheek and went to greet his friends.

"What's up?" Lauren sat down by a window and placed her legs on the table. "It's hot outside and I'm hungry."

"I'm with Lauren on that one." Jayden sat next Lauren and Antonio sat across from them. "It's ninety degrees out there."

"That's crazy but um… I have a question to ask you two." The Shiba siblings nodded for him to continue. "For Mother's Day this year, my family and I are going to Mexico City for a big family reunion. And I would like to invite you two on a free trip to Mexico on May tenth."

"The tenth of May?" Jayden asked him, uneasily. He looked at Lauren. "I don't know, Antonio. Our father died May tenth. Lauren and I kind of have this little thing we do…"

"Go to Mexico Jayden." Lauren cut off her brother's sentence. "I can take care of myself. I have final exams on that day anyways." She looked at Antonio. "Thanks for the offer but I'm going to have to pass. I have to go to school."

"Lauren, you and I both know how emotional you are on that day." Jayden told her. Between the two of them, Lauren is the most emotional on May tenth. She always was. She usually has a bad break down and can't control her emotions. Jayden doesn't know what her previous mentors or guardians did on that day but since he's been reunited with his sister, he finds himself taking care of her. Her past wasn't a very good one. Family means _a lot_ to her especially her parents.

"I will get over it eventually. I have been crying for too long." Lauren shook her head. "Go to Mexico with your best friend. I will stay here with the team."

"Okay, since you say so." Jayden sighed. "I'm going to trust you."

"You're coming Jay?" Jayden grinned at Antonio. "Yes! This is golden! I hope you can come next time Lauren."

"Yeah, have fun." Lauren told him. Her phone began to ring so she picked it up. "How's it going Terry? Okay, okay, oh my goodness! I will be there as fast as I can." She turned her attention back to Antonio and Jayden. "That was Terry. He said that there is something wrong with Mia."

The men didn't have to hear it twice. Their sister needs help. The three left the restaurant and drove off to see and hopefully help Mia.

_Oh no! :O! What's wrong with Mia? Anyways, to that question about Megaforce; I'm watching Megaforce! :D I don't plan on doing any fanfics on them right now though.  
_

_Spanish words used in this chapter translations:_

_calmarse: calm down_

_nino: child, boy  
_

_muy: very_

_If you are a Spanish speaker, please don't hesitate to correct me. I used Google Translate :P_


	24. A Wish To Help Her More

_Random short rant time!_

_Since you guys asked…I'm trying to get myself to like Megaforce. And for the Megaforce fans reading this, don't worry; it took me a long time to like Samurai too. I don't watch much TV, maybe that's the reason. IDK. But I like Gia. Not only is she a bada$$ chic, but she also has brains._

_Any who… Here's the new chapter! Sorry it took me longer than my normal-ish pace to update. I've been busy. Hopefully I can update faster next time and make a longer chapter._

Terry walked outside of the Shiba house gates with Casper on his leash. He couldn't stay in there anymore. It was too overwhelming. When he got his parents to his room and explained what happened (mostly to his mom because she was a past samurai), he called Lauren. Lauren, along with Antonio and Jayden, found Mia barely conscious, rubbing her stomach in pain. Lauren didn't know what was going on but she knew she couldn't take Mia to the hospital. If her sudden aches had something to do with Aqua/Bre's water element growing, then the doctors would ask questions, questions that would cause them to give away their samurai secret. And since Lauren wasn't planning on giving away her secret to a stranger, she told the wind family to get Mia to the Shiba house.

Now, Terry and the other samurai were awaiting news from Ji and Catherine. Jayden called Ji and explained to him what was happening. Ji calmly told Jayden to get him medical supplies from his old room in the Shiba house and he would take care of the rest with his wife.

Casper sniffed around the property of the Shiba house. He heard a car pull in. The puppy saw two people he didn't know, Mike and Emily. He began to bark at them. Terry held Casper back on his leash and apologized to the couple.

"Be nice Casper." Terry told him. "Hey guys."

"Hey Terry, we came as soon as we could." Emily said. "Where is everyone else?"

"They're all inside. I haven't heard anything on Mia yet." Terry wiped a tear from his eye in his leather jacket. "I don't want to lose my sister."

"Hey dude…" Mike rested his hand on Terry's shoulder. "We aren't losing Mia. She's too strong to just give up. As a matter of fact, we're too strong to let that happen. We're all samurais, right? It took us two years to defeat all of the nighlok and we didn't die. Why would we make a baby kill Mia?"

"I just wish I could be doing something more. I don't want to be standing on the sidelines, watching this happen. I'm going to be a doctor in a couple of years. I should've done something!"

"You did the right thing Terry." Emily hugged him and made contact with his eyes. "You did what any other inexperienced doctor would've done."

"But…"

"No buts. Butts are for chairs."

"I guess so." Terry sighed. "Lauren needs you by the way."

"Alright." Mike and Emily went inside the house. Erika and her husband, Nicholas, were sitting on the couch, trying to ignoring the depressing mood in the house. Erika seemed to be speaking in Korean on the phone frantically. Nicholas was attempting to keep her calm. The young couple passed them and went into the kitchen. Antonio and Jayden were getting their guest drinks and keeping themselves occupied by talking about Mexico (although Mike and Emily don't exactly know why).

"Hola amigos." Antonio waved with Jayden.

"Hi, where's Lauren?" Emily asked.

Jayden scratched the back of his head. "I don't know…" He trailed off as he heard a shriek that sounded like his sister's coming from the dojo. "I think I found her."

Emily nodded and left Mike in the kitchen with the other men. When she got to the dojo, she saw Lauren on the ground holding her head. "Lauren, are you okay? I heard you scream."

"That was awesome." Lauren said, gasping for breath in between every word. She looked down at her bare foot and massaged it happily. "It works! I can't believe I just did that!"

"What did you just do?" Emily held out her hand for Lauren to take so she could stand.

"I did the healing symbol." Emily crossed her arms over her chest disappointed. She and Lauren are supposed to do the symbol together. "I did half of it." Lauren reassured her. She picked up a bandage from the bench and threw it in the trash. "The other day, I dropped my flat iron on my foot. And I was thinking how ugly it would look in my new heels so I decided to try the symbol out for myself." Lauren wiggled her healed foot. "It worked! You have to try it! I felt so powerful!"

"Um, I think that's enough practice for you today." Emily gave Lauren a pat on the back. "Have you heard anything regarding Mia?"

"Yeah, Catherine said that she was dehydrated so that part of her should be okay. She doesn't know what was causing her pain though. It's a mystery."

"Dehydrated? We might as well start shoving gallons of water down her throat if she's going to be scaring us like this."

"These next couple of weeks is going to be hard." Lauren sighed, looking at a picture of her parents smiling hung up on the wall. The more she saw the picture, the more doubtful she felt in controlling herself emotions on the day they died.

* * *

Kevin watched Mia sleep. He was teaching a swimming class when he received a call from Jayden, saying his wife almost passed out at her parents' house. He had to excuse himself from the class and apologize to his assistant swimming coach and students for the inconvenience.

The blue samurai ran his fingers through Mia's thick, black hair and grinned. _"She's too perfect."_ He thought. He gazed on her body. Mia was pale. But at least she was a normal weight (well, a normal weight for someone expecting a baby). She breathed peacefully in her sleep like nothing was wrong in the world. Just like Terry, he wishes he could be doing something more for her.

Kevin kicked off his rubber sandals that he usually wore to the pool by Mia's bed. He climbed in the bed next to Mia and carefully wrapped his arms around her protectively so he didn't wake her up or mess with the IV in her hand. He kissed her neck.

"I love you babies." He told Mia and his unborn daughter.


	25. Bringing Wind and Water to the Fire

_Thanks for the reviews! They motivate me when I have writer's block or just don't feel like writing (Don't give me that look. It happens :P). All of your reviews are so sweet. I'm glad most of you think I'm a good writer but there are A LOT of other really good Samurai FanFiction authors out there. Try looking out for them :)_

Mia's eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched her arms brightly. It took her a few seconds to remember why she was waking up at the Shiba house in the evening with an IV in her hand but she quickly dismissed that thought. It wasn't her first scary pregnancy episode. Sadly, she had much more to come with Aquanetta/Breezie growing faster than the average baby. Mia watched the sun set outside and smiled. She could see Terry tossing a Frisbee at Casper, who gladly caught it in his mouth. Terry and Casper had both helped her as much as they could earlier and she was grateful.

Kevin came into the room with a bowl of spaghetti in his hand. When he saw Mia awake, he placed it on the small nightstand next to her and gave her a warm smile.

"Hey you." Kevin said calmly. "Feeling better I see?" Surprisingly, he was probably the most relaxed person in the house when Mia blacked out. Well… he was calm after knowing what was wrong with Mia and knowing that she should be okay for now. Before knowing those facts, he freaked out but no one knew that. Kevin was never the person to express his feelings in public.

"I don't feel one hundred percent just yet but I'm getting there." Mia told him, frowning. "I'm still feeling pain."

"Yeah, no one knows what is causing your pains. At least you're not dehydrated anymore." Kevin replied. "Would you like something to eat? Lauren made a big pot of spaghetti for everyone with Catherine's help. And I have to say, for a fire samurai that can't cook, Lauren did a really good job this time."

"No thanks, I'll pass." She rubbed her tummy. "I don't think Breezie is hungry either."

Kevin smirked. "Okay, so we're going to start the name calling wars, aren't we?" He rubbed Mia's tummy with her. "I think Mommy is still tired. Can you believe she doesn't know your name Aquanetta?" Kevin kissed his wife's stomach. She giggled.

Jayden and Lauren stepped into the room awkwardly. They didn't know Mia woke up but they knew Kevin came in here to eat his dinner. They weren't expecting a love scene between the two.

"Did we interrupt… a moment?" Jayden scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"No, come in guys." Kevin waved them over.

The Shiba siblings looked at each other like they were trying to read the others mind. Kevin watched them debate something in harsh whisper tones. Jayden ran his fingers through his hair while Lauren had her hands on her hips. Mia gave Kevin a confused look. Kevin just shrugged. After their quick argument, Jayden and Lauren gave the couple a grin and made their way to Mia's bedside.

"We have a proposal or offer or suggestion or…" Lauren stuttered.

Jayden nudged her lightly. "Get to the point." He whispered.

"Ji, Catherine, Jayden, and I were talking about what just happened." Lauren told the couple. She started to play with the rings on her fingers. "Would you two like to live with us this month?"

"What?" Mia asked. The Shiba house was build for the Samurai Rangers when they were called for battle. Lauren's offer is really random right now especially since Mia moved out a week after defeating Master Xandred.

"You don't have to but it will be safer." Lauren looked at Jayden nervously. She's learned some socializing skills through the pass years but sometimes she needed help getting her points across.

Jayden rested his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Basically what Lauren is trying to say is that since you became seven months pregnant, you're now very vulnerable. If Terry didn't bring you here, we don't even want to imagine what would've happened. Nowadays you're usually home-alone so we, mostly Lauren, think it would be better for you to stay with us until you're at least eight months pregnant. We don't want to see something happen to you just because you're out of medical reach."

Mia nodded. "What do you think Kevin?"

"I don't know." Kevin looked at the wheelchair across the room. "I'm thinking back to the time we got you the wheelchair when you couldn't walk anymore and we didn't want you to collapse. Now you were sitting on a bed and still managed to pass out." He pointed to Terry outside. "I don't think he needs another scare either."

"That's true."Mia agreed. "I'll move in. I don't think you guys are going to allow be to stay by myself anyways."

"Oh, and another thing…" Jayden said. "Antonio and I are going to Mexico next week. So you will be home with Lauren and Ji. Catherine will be out of town with her family."

"We can have a Girl's Night Out." Lauren nodded.

"Okay, thanks guys." Mia said, gratefully. "You two are so kind to me."

"How can we ever repay you?" Kevin asked.

"No need to repay us." Jayden gave Mia a side hug.

* * *

A week later, Jayden found himself scanning his whole room, not twice, but three times and checked off the items on a long list constantly. It wasn't often he traveled outside of the country or even the state. When he traveled, it was for training in Japan or to a city where other samurais lived. He never got to travel for leisure. Suddenly, Jayden's back felt a heavy weight. He turned around to see his big sister holding herself up with her arms around his neck.

"Are you ready?" Lauren asked innocently with a grin.

"When are you going to stop climbing on me like that?" Jayden dropped Lauren's weight on his bed. "I thought I was the younger one."

"I'll stop when I grow taller than you." Lauren smirked. Jayden might be younger but Jayden was definitely taller than her. "We're waiting for you outside. Even Catherine left already." She stood up next to Jayden and pinched his cheeks. "Plus, you need some sun. I'm sure Mexico's rays can help with that."

Jayden swatted Lauren's hand away from his face and picked up his suitcases. He tossed a small carry-on bag in Lauren's hands. "I'm ready, let's go."

The fire siblings walked out to the driveway where Ji was loading suitcases in the black Shiba van. Ji gave Jayden a fatherly hug. "Have a safe flight Jayden. I'll see you in three weeks."

"You're not coming to the airport?"

"No, there is no room for me." Ji leaned into Jayden's ear. "Mia isn't exactly the same size she was several months ago."

"See you later Ji." Jayden chuckled. He gave the older man one final wave and helped Lauren in the backseat next to Mia before sitting next to her. Antonio sat in the passenger seat next to the driver's seat that Kevin sat in.

Kevin fixed the rear-view mirror on his wife. "Is Mia and Aqua buckled in?"

"Yes, Bre and I are buckled in darling." Mia laughed.

Kevin fixed the rear-view mirror back to its original position and turned his head to the Shiba siblings. "All aboard?"

"Can we go already?" Antonio bounced in his seat child-like. He can't wait for his feet to touch Mexican soil. "My mom is going to be pissed if we're late."

"Okay, here we go." Kevin drove into the city. Antonio and Jayden were already a couple minutes late so he took the freeway.

There was side chatter and singing on their way to the airport in the first couple of minutes. The Shiba house wasn't very close to the airport though so they all eventually got bored. Kevin had to keep his eyes on the road but every few minutes he would look back at Mia and ask her if she's okay. Mia started to get tired of him asking that so she found an interest in counting how many blue cars she saw pass by. Antonio was speaking to his parents on the phone. Lauren leaned her head on Jayden's shoulder while playing a game on her phone and Jayden just made random knots with the strings on his book bag.

Finally, they made it to the airport parking lots. Antonio and Jayden walked out and grabbed their luggage with Lauren's help. Kevin and Mia stayed in the vehicle. They weren't staying long so it would be a waste of time to take out Mia's wheelchair, help her sit in it, then help her out, and put the chair back.

Outside of the vehicle, Lauren embraced Antonio and Jayden. Antonio handed her piece of paper with numbers.

"These are my aunts and uncles numbers." Antonio told her. "If you ever need one of us, just call one of the numbers and ask for us. I told them about you so they will be expecting you're calls."

"Alright, I will do that." Lauren gave Antonio another hug and turned her attention to Jayden. Lauren had to admit, saying bye to Jayden and not seeing him for almost a month is going to be difficult. Since being reunited, they only separated themselves for school or something as simple as picking up a few groceries. "I guess this is goodbye baby brother."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily. What did I tell you yesterday?"

Lauren sighed. "Take care of Mia with Ji, go to school, spend time with Cody and Mia, check on Mike and Emily, practice the healing symbol with Emily, make sure Kevin isn't working too hard, and on May tenth, if I ever need someone to speak to or feel like I'm going to have a breakdown, Ji is always there for my convenience. I know, I know, it's all in my phone. Can you leave now?"

"No, you forgot one." Jayden kissed the top of her head. "Take care of yourself."

Lauren gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Have fun in Mexico baby brother."


	26. New Jobs

_Random Fact Time!_

_Alex Heartman's (Jayden) birthday is February 26, 2013. He will be tuning 23._

_I love the number 26. My birthday is January 26. You know what else is 26? This chapter is 26._

Emily dragged her bunny slipper feet from her bedroom to the kitchen. Once she got to the kitchen, she pulled out a yellow mug with smiley face on it from the cupboard and got her coffee maker so she could start on some breakfast for herself and Mike. Mike was still sleeping as the usual. Not everyone is a morning person like Emily.

The blonde cracked eggs above a pan on the stove. While she waited for the eggs to fry, she cleaned a small, brown table in the dining room that she and Mike usually dumped paper advertisements, mail, books, and other stuff on. Since they were currently just a family of two, they rarely ate at their table unless it was for a special occasion such as Valentine's Day. Emily picked up newspapers and searched for coupons she could use. She flipped through the pages rapidly, ignoring the political news. She always thought they were boring. There was nothing of use to her in the newspapers so she threw them in the bin.

Emily went back to the kitchen and turned off the stove and coffee maker. She got two slices of bread and shoved them in the toaster. Again, she was waiting for her food to cook. Except this time, the toast would stop itself. She got a gossip magazine from the table and read it carelessly on the couch.

"They broke up for the third time." Emily read an article aloud. "What a shocker…" She flipped through the pages the same way she did with the newspapers. Unlike the newspapers, something in the magazine caught her attention. An envelope fell out of the middle of the magazine. The yellow samurai picked it up and opened it. She gasped in surprise.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Emily ran to her bedroom and jumped on the bed to wake up Mike.

"What is it this time Emily?" Mike grumbled in his pillows.

"Guess what, guess what, guess what!" Emily pushed her mail into Mike's face.

Mike rubbed his eyes tiredly and read what Emily was showing him. He grinned excitedly. It's like someone set off a spark inside of him. He jumped into Emily's arms and tackled her into the bed with showers of kisses.

"You got a job at a clothing store? Congratulations! This is perfect timing." Mike said. Emily gave him a confused look. "I got a new job too!"

It was Emily's turn to shower Mike in kisses. "Congrats! Where will you be working?"

"I'll be right next door to you at the recreation center, teaching a hip-hop dance class to young teens."

"That's so cool! We have to tell the others!" Emily raced out of the room to get her phone. She knew the other samurais would be excited too. They wanted her to get a job more than she did. The clothing store might not seem like much now but it was a good start for someone who hasn't started college yet.

* * *

Back at the Shiba house, Mia shifted her body in the wheelchair until she felt comfortable. When she was satisfied in her position, she pushed her wheels down to the kitchen where Lauren and Ji were making breakfast. Ji spotted her, watching them. He waved for her to come in. "Good morning Mia. Did you sleep well?"

"I kept on waking up but that's better than no sleep, right?" Mia shrugged. She lost so much sleep; she's starting not to care. When she wakes up cranky, she just tells herself that she will have to get used to it with a baby on the way.

"Yes, I suppose so." Ji responded. He placed a plate of food in front of Mia and handed her some pills. "Do you think any of your pains could be contractions?"

"No, I don't think so. It's still kind of early."

"Okay, I will take your word for it." Ji flicked his thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to go call Cathy. Tell me if you ladies need anything."

"Alright Ji, tell her Lauren says hi and I hope you're having a good time." Lauren told Ji.

"I will do that." Ji called from down the hallway.

Lauren scooted her chair closer to Mia's. "Hey girly! Do you want to go to the spa later on today?"

"No thanks, Lauren. I just want to stay home today." Mia says, not making any contact with Lauren. She just picked at her food.

"Oh…well, do you want to go over Emily's? I heard she and Mike got new jobs!"

"Nope, I'm relaxing today." Mia said simply.

"Oh…well do you…"

"When does Kevin get home?" Mia asked, cutting off Lauren's sentence.

"He'll be back at noon, why?"

The pink samurai played with the strings on her silk, pink robe. "We got into an argument about naming the baby last night. We've been certain about the names Aquanetta and Breezie for a while now. They're both good names. Which one gets to be the first name though?" Mia leaned her head on the palm her hand. "We love them… or so I thought. I don't know if it was out of anger but Kevin said Breezie is a strange name. You don't think Breezie is a strange name, do you?"

"Of course not, Breezie is the sweetest name ever!" Lauren gave Mia a small hug. "I wish my name was Breezie. It's unique just like your little bun in the oven. I don't care what anyone says. I'm on Team Breezie!" The two girls gave each other high-fives. "I know it's your decision with Kevin but if you'd like, I can survey the rest of the family."

"I like that idea." Mia smiled. "We can call it Team Breezie vs. Team Aquanetta. The votes won't be official but at least it can give us a better understanding of which name people prefer. It's not like I want them making fun of her name. From my experience as a daycare provider, kids can be mean sometimes."

"Totally understandable." Lauren nodded and took a pen out of her pocket. She wrote down the number of votes on her hand. She would put it on a piece of paper later. "So far, it's 2:1. Team Breezie is winning."

"Great, you're the best!"

"It's my job." Lauren brushed her hair to the back with her hand. "Does this mean we're going to the spa?"

Mia laughed for a quick second before making a stiff face. "I was serious about the relaxing at home part."

* * *

In Mexico City, it was already getting close to noon. The sunshine sets itself right above Antonio's grandparents' balcony. It felt great outside. It wasn't too hot and it definitely wasn't too cold. Antonio and Jayden had their feet kicked up in lawn chairs with sunglasses on. The rest of Antonio's family was busy getting things ready for the family reunion on Mother's Day. Or that's what they thought. Alycia Garcia came out on the balcony with her hands on her hips, giving the boys a disapproving stare.

"Why are you two just laying here?" Alycia asked them sternly.

"You said to go outside." Antonio smirked at his mother. She slapped the back of his head. "Ow, okay!"

"I meant to leave the house." Alycia took his sunglasses off Antonio's face. "Leave the property and go into the city. Abuelo said that a new shopping mall opened down the street. Go check it out; I don't want to see guys until dinner. Got that Mr. Shiba?"

"Yes ma'am." Jayden chuckled. "I can't wait to see how beautiful Mexico is."

"You hear that? You have a job to do." Alycia gave him a smile and kissed her son's cheek. She fixed her scarf around her neck and walked back into the house.

"And that's just my mom." Antonio shook his head and wiped the red lipstick from his face. "We better get going now."

"I'm right behind you." Jayden replied, following Antonio off the balcony.

_Hey! Sorry it has been taking me a while to update lately. I have schoolwork :-/_

_Quick question: Team Breezie or Team Aquanetta? Vote for a team on the poll on my profile. If you don't have an account, you can just tell me through a review. No, these votes won't determine what I name her. I just want to know your opinion :)_


	27. Ready or Not

_All of your votes made me so excited! Lol, here's the new chapter! :D_

Mike watched his first group of students from the doorway excitedly. His students consisted teen boys and girls, ages thirteen to sixteen. The music in the room was playing loudly. The teenagers in the room were singing, dancing, and socializing blissfully. All of them seemed like friendly people. Mike took this as a good sign. Dancing in groups required a lot of teamwork. The green samurai walked into the large room and dropped his bag next to the stereos. None of the students paid attention to him so he turned down the music to the point where only he could hear it. The chatter in the room came to a pause and everyone looked at Mike.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mike smirked. "I know you guys didn't start the party without me."

A couple of the older students cheered and welcomed Mike. One of the boys stepped out of the crowd with his hands in his pockets. "Are you our new dance teacher?" He asked.

"Yes, I am." Mike grinned. "How are you doing?"

"I'm ready to dance." The boy replied, snapping his fingers while gliding his feet to one of his lady friends. She giggled and gave him a slight shove.

"That's the spirit. I love the energy in here." Mike pointed to the wall closest to the doorway. "Can I have all of you take your shoes and socks off and meet me back here in a circle?" All of the students did as they were told and formed a circle around Mike. "Good afternoon dancers."

"Good afternoon." They chorused back.

"Okay, so first of all, I bet you guys want to know my name." The teens nodded. "I'm Michael Rivera but you can call Mike. I love to dance. Dancing is my passion. I have been dancing ever since I was in elementary school and I'm super glad to be able to teach here." Mike told them. "This is my first time teaching by the way so this is going to be interesting for the both of us. Are there any questions?" He pointed to a girl with braces that was raising her hand.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" The girl laughed. Her best friend glared at her. "What? If you're not going to ask him, I will.

"I just got married to an amazing woman last month." Mike chuckled.

"Aww…" The girls said. "She's so lucky."

"Are there any other questions?" The students shook their heads. "Alright, let's spread out. I want everyone to have their own self space." They all got into their own spot, giving themselves enough space to move. Mike could tell that some of the students already know each other. "So who knows the number one, most important thing you do before dancing?"

"You have to stretch." A guy in the front of the room answered.

"Good, we're off to a nice start." Mike nodded. "Who's ready to warm up?"

"Me!" The teenagers jumped up and down eagerly.

"I said; who's ready to warm up?" Mike asked louder to tease them. He looked around the dance room. The teenagers bounced higher and clapped happily with giggles escaping their mouths… except one. A fifteen years old girl in the back of the room never reacted. She just stared out the window, biting her nails. _"Maybe she's shy…"_ The samurai thought.

He pulled out a CD from his bag and pushed it into the stereo system. "Follow my lead."

* * *

At the Shiba house, Lauren was cleaning out her closet with Mia's supervision. Mia was actually supposed to be helping her but she couldn't do much because of her condition so she just watched Lauren clean and took things that she didn't want any more (the Shiba's had a lot of baby items stored in various places of the house). Lauren had her back turned to Mia and seemed like she was looking through a book. The red samurai's laughing was making Mia curious.

"What are you looking at?" Mia wheeled herself closer to Lauren and gave her a little kick. "I want to see." Lauren began to laugh harder. She picked up the book that she was looking through and showed Mia. "Ew, that's gross! I hate you."

"You said you wanted to see it." Lauren began to laugh even harder on her closet floor. She just showed Mia a picture of Jayden's birth in her baby photo album. She had to admit, it wasn't a very pretty sight but she loved Mia's reaction to it.

"Give it to me." Mia took the photo album from Lauren and analyzed the pictures closely. "You _totally_ have to show this to Jayden. He would freak out."

"I know, right?" Lauren agreed. She went back into her closet and pulled out a red baby pajama. She threw it at Mia's face. "Merry Christmas Breezie!"

Mia took the dress off her face and smiled. "This is so cute and tiny."

"I wore that when I was just a day old."

"I can't take this from you." Mia gasped. "Save it for when you have a baby."

"I doubt I'll be having kids any time soon." Lauren shook her head. "Take it; Breezie can wear it when she's born."

"Wow, you hear that Bre?" Mia rubbed her stomach. "Auntie Lauren is going to make you pretty in red when you arrive."

"Do you think Kevin is ready for this?"

"I hope so. I heard some couples do test drives." Mia explained to Lauren. "They would time how fast they can make it to the hospital..." Lauren smirked. "Oh no, you're up to something."

Lauren searched through some clothes on the ground in her closet until she found her phone. She opened up her clock app and brought up the stopwatch page. The red samurai stood up. "I'm going to surprise Kevin." She whispered. "I'll tell him your water broke and when he starts to freak out, I'll turn on my stopwatch."

"That's such a dirty trick… I like it." Mia wheeled herself to the middle of the room while Lauren got to the door. Before she could open it, Mia called her back. "Tell me if he faints."

Lauren picked up her camcorder from her dresser and left the room. "I'll record it if he does." She said from the hallway.

Lauren ran down the hall until she found Kevin. Kevin was adding two blue tallies on a Team Breezie vs. Team Aquanetta chart that Ji hung up next to the living room. Lauren wanted the trick to look real so she jogged up to Kevin with a scared face.

"What's wrong Lauren?" Kevin stuck the blue marker he was writing with into a small container next to a pink marker. "Did you see a ghost in your closet?"

Lauren's fake expression dropped and she pointed to the chart. "Where are those votes from?"

"My parents…"

Lauren's hands balled into fist but then she remembered why she was even speaking to him. "Mia… water broke… in my room… she's in a lot of pain… you need to go see her right now! I don't know about you but I'm going to call Emily and Ji." Lauren unlocked her phone but instead of calling Emily or Ji, she started her stopwatch.

"But it's still early!" Kevin looked like _he_ saw a ghost. He darted down the hallway to Lauren's room. He refused to miss the birth of his first daughter or his possible last few hours with Mia (since there was high risk that she could die). When Kevin got to Lauren's room, Mia was holding her stomach in laughter. He turned around and he could see Lauren behind him, holding on her door handle for support as she laughed.

"He got here in less than thirty seconds!" Lauren showed Mia the timer on her phone. "I have never seen him run so fast!"

"That's not cool." Kevin crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys scared the shit out of me!"

"I just wanted to see if you were prepared for our baby, honey." Mia replied calmly. She never meant to scare him so much (that's what Lauren wanted though) but it's going to happen soon. Kevin will need to be ready for whatever time their daughter chooses to come out.

"How did I do?" Kevin sighed. He chose not question why his wife played that dirty trick on him.

"I think you did a very good job." Mia told him.

"I want to do that again!" Lauren pushed Kevin out her room.


	28. Fallen Shibas

_Thanks for the reviews as usual! I know I take longer than some of your likings sometimes to put up the new chapter but I have school work to do._

_Any who, here's the new chapter! It has a couple line breaks that annoy me for some unknown reason but I hope you enjoy! :D_

Emily hummed to herself as she walked around the clothes shop. She loved her new job. Now that she was working, she could start saving up money for college without her parents' or Mike's help. It gave her a feel of independence and pride in herself that she's been wanting ever since she took Serena's spot as the yellow samurai. Emily folded clothes that needed folding and hung up clothes that needing hanging. It wasn't a very difficult job, most of the time anyways.

She kneeled onto the ground to get a fallen hanger but she dropped it instantly. The hanger gave her a small cut on her finger. Instead of getting a band-aid, Emily got an idea. She hid behind a clothes rack and checked to see if anyone was watching her. Once she double checked no one was watching, Emily slowly and carefully, traced half of the healing symbol over her finger. The symbol glowed wildly as it cleaned up the blood coming from Emily's wound and brought her skin back together. Emily inspected her finger. It's like the hanger never touched it.

She bounced up and down and kissed her finger. She felt as powerful as Lauren did. A few weeks ago, Lauren used the symbol by herself and couldn't stop smiling. Now Emily knows why. It was an amazing feeling. But Emily's joyful moment came to a stop as shoppers began to stare at her.

"Oh, um, we have great prices today!" Emily scratched the back of her head. She showed them a pair of jeans. "Buy one, get one free!"

* * *

Jayden walked into the room he was sharing with Antonio while they stayed in Mexico. He opened up a small suitcase in the corner of the room and digged through his red clothing until he found a picture in a red frame. It's a picture of his parents, Josh and Vanessa Shiba, holding hands under a tree with white flowers. The picture was obviously taken about twenty-seven years ago. At the time, Vanessa was carrying Lauren and having a second child wasn't even thought of. Jayden grinned and tucked the picture back in his suitcase. He just needed to see the picture at least once today for the sake of his sanity.

Almost on cue, Antonio came in, eating cake with a silly smile on his face. The Garcia Family Reunion has been going on since nine in the morning and even though it's already past noon, the party was still at large. Everyone attending the reunion was either in the front yard, backyard, or somewhere in the house (it's a big house).

"Is everything okay amigo?" Antonio stuffed another slice of cake in his mouth.

"Yeah, sure, everything's cool." Jayden pointed to the bathroom door. "I had some business to take care of."

"Toni! Toni!" A little girl ran in and tugged on Antonio's shirt. "_Jugar! Jugar!_"

Antonio got to his knees so he could speak to her at eye level. He spoke to her in Spanish and the girl ran off giggling happily. Antonio chuckled. "I'll be downstairs."

"I wonder what Lauren is up to." Jayden thought out loud when the gold samurai left. "Oh well…" He stuck in hands in his pockets and left the room.

* * *

Lauren looked around the Shiba property. No one was insight. Ji went to pick up Catherine from the airport and Mia wasn't feeling well so she was inside the house taking a nap. Lauren had to admit, she felt a little guilty for leaving her sick sister by herself but there was something she had to do. Something she had to do for her blood related family. With a tight grip around two banquets of flowers, Lauren made her way into the forest. She stepped slowly on the dirt ground and stopped at a big tree with white flowers. The white flowers were falling elegantly like snow on top of two marble gravestones.

"Hi dad, it's already that time of year." Lauren placed the flowers on Josh Shiba's grave and did the same for Vanessa's grave. "Hey mom, Happy Mother's Day, I got you a rose, every Shiba's favorite flower."

"Jayden went to Mexico with his best friend for a big family reunion so it's just me this year." Lauren sighed and sat in the grass in front of the graves. "I'm starting to miss him and I wish he was here to spend this day with us but I let him go. He deserves it."

* * *

"…And five, six, seven, eight!" Mike watched his students dance to part of the new choreography he taught them. He's only been teaching them for two weeks but they caught on quickly. It made him proud. He gazed the room to make sure everyone was dancing on the same pace.

"You guys are doing great!" Mike told them once they stopped moving. He heard a squeak echo in the room. None of the students were allowed to have their sneakers on in the dance room. The forest samurai turned his head to see Evany taking her converse off her feet. Evany is the same shy girl he saw standing in the back of the room on his first day as a dance teacher. She has dark brown hair with brown eyes and tan skin.

"Sorry, I'm late." Evany whispered to Mike. "I didn't have a ride."

"It's cool." Mike said. "You only missed warm-ups and the beginning of a new choreography." Evany nodded and tried to walk away but Mike grabbed her arm. "I want to you to stand in the front today."

Evany gulped. She wasn't doing well in the class. She picked up the new dance moves slower than all the other teens. Even the younger people in the class were doing better than her. It's embarrassing. Evany pulled her pink hood over her head and walked to the spot in the room Mike assigned to her.

Mike smiled. He went back to the stereo and quickly reviewed the dance steps. When it looked like they got it, he turned on the music. After only fifteen seconds in the song, someone got hurt and that someone was Evany.

"Are you okay?" A tall guy offered her a hand but Evany refused to take it. "I guess not…"

"I'm fine!" Evany shouted. She quickly realized her mistake once everyone starting staring at her. She buried her head deeper in her hood. "Sorry…"

"No harm done, just don't raise your voice like that." Mike rested his hand on Evany's shoulder. "Let's try again. If you don't get the moves this time then I can teach it to you as many times as I need to, okay?"

"Okay…"

* * *

Cody looked around the Shiba property like Lauren did earlier that day. He tried knocking on the doors and calling phones but Lauren never came. He began to worry. Lauren's car was still in the parking lot next to Jayden's as the usual. He even tried to ask a few people at her law school if they've seen her but to add on to his disappointment, Lauren didn't attend class at all today. Cody paced the front yard of the Shiba house until he heard a faint cry coming from the side of the forest that Lauren made clear to him never to go to. Cody obeyed that rule… except this time. Cody is a good guy. He hated it when people were sad so he did what his heart told him to do.

He made his way into the forest and the cry grew louder. Then, he paused in his tracks. White flowers were falling on his shoes from a tall tree. It was almost magical to him. Right below the tree, he saw two graves and his girlfriend, crying into her knees.

"Am I interrupting something?" Cody kneeled next to Lauren. The red samurai looked up startled at first. When she recognized the face, she wiped her tears in her sweater and rested her head on his chest.

"Why are you here?" Lauren kept her eyes on her parents' graves. "I said you weren't allowed on this side of the forest, remember?"

"Yeah, so?" Cody shrugged. "I heard someone crying so I came to check it out."

"Do I really cry that loud?" Lauren gasped.

Cody chuckled slightly and kissed the top of her head. "Not really, my housemates say I have the hearing of a dog."

Lauren sighed and gestured to the graves. "Well, welcome to the Shiba graves, I guess. My mom and dad died on this day about thirty-four years ago."

"Wow, it's been awhile then, huh?"

"My childhood was ruined that day." Lauren sobbed. "I was seven and Jayden was three. The nighlok surrounded the Shiba house and burnt most of the forest. My mother died quickly about an hour after my dad in battle. Meanwhile, I was hidden in a closet in the house with Jayden. Once the word got out that the current leaders of the Shiba clan were dead, I had to escape the house and go into hiding in Japan."

"Japan?"

"My father knew he couldn't defeat the nighlok so he had a plan." Lauren explained to him. "Since I'm now the current leader of the Shiba clan, I had this… special power. But it's very hard to master so I needed somewhere to practice it without the risk of being killed."

"What about Jayden?"

"When the battle ended, Jayden was raised and trained by Ji and I was… just trained by various guardians and mentors. Jayden took my place as the red ranger until I mastered my special power. You know how long ago that was?"

"Three years ago?" His girlfriend nodded. "So that's why there were two red rangers."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for Jayden, I don't know what this world would come to. I don't want to know what this world would come to."

Cody gave her a little squeeze. "Well, that's in the past."

"It's still so hard to get over though. It had such a heavy impact on my life. Every year, on this day, since returning from Japan, I give my parents roses. We all love roses and not just because they're red."

"I think they get enough flowers from this tree."

"My parents love this tree. It was here before the battle and it's still here today. I don't know why the flowers grow and fall like that though. It's always been like that every season."

"Maybe someday a fairy will come out dressed in all white."

"I guess so." Lauren giggled and turned her head to Cody. The couple slowly, closed their eyes and pressed their lips together. Lauren and Cody have kissed before but never like this. When they parted, both of them were speechless.

"That… that was… nice."

"Yeah…" Lauren covered her blushing cheeks with her hands. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For giving me my first kiss and you know…" Lauren pointed to the graves. "…staying here with me."

"Anytime… no problem." Cody looked at the graves. "Um, hey Mr. and Mrs. Shiba."

"Come on, I have a pregnant lady to take care of." Lauren laughed and stood up. Cody also got up and began to walk ahead of Lauren. "I think he's a keeper." Lauren whispered to the graves and jumped on Cody's back. Maybe she could be happy on May tenth…


	29. Recieving the News

_Random Fact Time!_

_Hector David Jr. is freakin' hot! Lol, that's an opinion. Here's the fact:_

_Hector was a Lotus Land Dancer in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief._

_Okay… Depressing Chapter Time! This chapter has line breaks that don't annoy me :P_

Days went by and Mia's luck began to decrease. She was no longer seven months pregnant. Lauren and Jayden offered her to stay in the Shiba house until she was at least eight months pregnant just in case she needed immediate medical treatment from Ji or Catherine. That was no longer the case. They expected Mia to collapse and possibly give premature birth in her seventh month just like the samurai from decades ago. But it turns out, Mia was safe that month. Eight months is the problem…

"Stop Breezie..." Mia managed to cough out. "Please…" She was in bed, rubbing her stomach endlessly in pain. Her eyes had dark circles under them from lack of sleep and her hair looked like a bird's nest because she couldn't lift her arm to comb it. Lauren went to school and Ji and Catherine were somewhere in another part of the house. She's alone. There are just a couple hours before dinner. Ji and Catherine should be checking on her soon.

"Please Breezie Aquanetta… take a break…" Tear began to spill from her tired eyes. They clouded her vision. "Ow…"

"Ow…" Mia said again louder. She felt something move in the lower half of her body. It hurts. The pink samurai knew what was going on. She didn't know if she should be happy or not. She stared at her phone on the dresser. She couldn't reach it. So Mia knew what she needed to do. With all the strength left in her body, she let out a piercing scream.

Catherine and Ji came running in with a look of concern on their faces. Catherine took Mia's hand and tried to sooth her but Mia refused.

"She's coming…" Mia bit her lip to keep herself from screaming again. "My water broke…"

"Breathe darling, you need to stay calm." Catherine looked up for Ji's assistance but Ji was nowhere in sight. He left as soon as he heard the magic words. Mia and Kevin's baby girl wants to get out. And one way or another, Ji is going to be prepared for her arrival.

* * *

"Bye dancers, I'll see you all next week." Mike told his students. "Evany, can you stay for an extra five minutes?"

He watched as his students parted into small groups with their friends and left except for Evany as the usual. Evany didn't have any friends which is sad because there are a lot of fifteen years olds in the class. It just made Mike want to help her more. The other teens in the class didn't speak to her because she struggled with the choreography so much.

Evany sat in a corner in the back of the room, taking tiny sips from her water bottle. She had nowhere important to be so she stayed like Mike asked her to. Mike sat next to her and offered her a smile. "Hey Evany, how are you?"

"Good." Evany replied quietly. "How are you?" She stared at the ground. She's never been very good at making eye contact when she spoke to people.

"I'm good." Mike said. He watched as Evany picked on the nail polish on her nails silently. "Look, um, I'm concerned about you."

"Why?"

"Well, you seem so… distant. You're very quiet and I'm not saying that's a bad thing but it's really affecting the way you socialize with people and dance. I want to help. If there's anything on your mind, I'll listen. If you need extra lessons, stay after class or we can work something out and we can meet up somewhere after school."

"Why are you so kind to me?" Mike gave her a confused look. "I'm always screwing up the dance moves. When I screw up, the whole class screws up and we look terrible. I'm slowing the class down. I don't even know why I keep on coming back or why I keep trying. I obviously have no rhythm."

"Don't say that Ev…"

"No, you don't get it!" For the first time in their conversation, Evany looked at Mike. "I can't dance. I'm the only person in my family that can't dance! My dad used to dance on Broadway and now he owns his own theater. And my mom is an accountant but by the time her shift ends, she's teaching a Zumba class. One of my older twin brothers teaches contemporary and the other one teaches hip-hop just like you… maybe even better!"

"Evan…"

Evany got up and started to pack her things in her bag. "Even my little sister dances better than me and she's five! She takes ballet at one of the most expensive dance studios in town!"

Mike ran his fingers through his thick hair and sighed. He wasn't going to yell at a girl younger than him especially since her parents (that own a theater apparently) are the one's paying him for teaching her and watching her while she's in his hands. And quite frankly, he wants to keep his job.

"Do you know what it's like Mike?" Evany questioned him. "Do you know what it's like to be in a family of successful dancers with dozens of awards and knowing you don't have a single one except a little participation ribbon from kindergarten?"

Mike didn't say a word. He was in total shock. He's never heard Evany yell that loud or talk that much in single breath. Evany stood up and got her shoes. On her way to the door, she passed Emily. She didn't know her so she used her manners and stepped out of the older woman's way.

"Excuse me." Evany whispered, back to her normal voice and left the studio.

Emily nodded and made her way to her defeated husband. She held out a hand to support him as he stood up. "My mighty green ranger husband just got told off by a teenage girl? Damn…rough day?"

"Oh, you saw that too?" Mike asked her.

"Yup, and she didn't sound too happy."

"I just wanted to help." Mike placed his hand on her hip and Emily placed her hand on his shoulder. The two of them gained a little ballroom dancing skills because of their wedding. In their reception, Emily was expected to dance with her father and Mike.

"I know you do." Emily kissed his cheek. "Remember my two left feet when we were taking lessons for our wedding reception."

"And how you didn't talk to me for the rest of the day because you couldn't get the moves right and I did." Mike chuckled and spun his wife around. "Yeah, I remember that."

"Want some advice?" Mike nodded. "If your student comes back next week, give her some space. Maybe that's all she needs right now."

Mike grinned and leaned in for a kiss but Emily cut him off. Her phone was ringing. She took her hand off Mike's shoulder and answered it. Mike saw Emily's expression go from joyful and calm to horror and panic. This caused him to panic too.

"It's time." Emily grabbed her husband's things from beside the stereo system and dragged him out the studio and into the parking lot. "She's coming. I can't believe she's coming. It's still early."

"What?" Mike didn't know what was going on but he went along with whatever Emily was up to. It seemed important. "She's coming? Who?"

"Mia's in labor." Emily gave him the car keys. "I'm so sane right now that if I drive, we're going to end up in jail for breaking ten traffic laws."

"Yes ma'am, did they tell you anything else?" Mike asked her as he drove out of the parking lot.

"She's not doing too well." Emily looked out the window with tears forming in her eyes. "Ji said she's going in and out of consciousness. I'm scared. What if I mess up the symbol?"

"Looks like I'm taking the highway…" Mike gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You won't mess up the symbol. Don't think like that. Focus on the positive."

* * *

Lauren took a sip of her soda from a straw at a café. After school, she wanted some quiet time away from her home. She felt relaxed but she couldn't help but call someone at home to see how Mia is doing. She left the Shiba house when Catherine was attempting to feed Mia her breakfast. Mia didn't want to eat. She was so vulnerable and broken, it shattered Lauren's heart. She couldn't imagine the pain Mia must be feeling.

"Hey mom, how's everyone?" Lauren greeted Catherine on the phone. "Mom, slow down. What's going on? Is Mia okay? Oh no…you're kidding me. So, let me get this straight. Mia…is giving birth…in my house? Ew… yeah, I know, it's just disturbing to think about."

"I'm on my way." Lauren picked up her purse from the small table she was sitting at and got into her car. Her day just got interesting.

* * *

"Alright guys, just ten more jumping jacks." Kevin told his swim students. Instead of learning how to swim, Kevin decided to give them a break and do some water aerobics with them. So far, it's been a good work day and everyone was having fun splashing in the water.

"Good job everyone, go take a breather." Mandy, Kevin's assistant swim coach said. Once their swim students were out of ear-shot, she gave Kevin a pat on the back. "It's good to have you back Mr. De-Tiege."

"I'm glad to be back Ms. Lawrence." Kevin sat on the bleachers. "Life has been really crazy for me lately."

"Oh, I know about that. It happens to the best of us. So how is your wife? It must have been hard to leave your sick wife home today." Kevin had told Mandy about how Mia's pregnancy has been (leaving out all of the samurai stuff) and it worried her. She's been pregnant before and she knows how those pregnancy scares can be.

"She's uh…" Kevin trailed off as he answered his ringing phone. "Sorry I have to take this."

"Go ahead, we have time."

Kevin listened to Ji carefully on the phone. Every word that came out of his mouth made him more and more terrified than ever before. Mia Jennifer De-Tiege, pink, wind samurai, his wife, his sick wife, is in labor. She's going to have their baby soon, very soon. Kevin never said a word when Ji stopped talking. He just hung up his phone and gathered his things.

"My wife is having a baby." Kevin gave Mandy an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry, I have to go. I know I missed a lot of days and I'm still making up for them…"

Mandy smirked. "Go ahead baby daddy, you obviously don't have time."

Kevin grinned. He's glad Mandy is an understanding person because he really doesn't know when he'll be back in the pool. Kevin quickly left the building. He's going to be a daddy.

_You guys are going to hate me! Hopefully I update it soon. In the meantime, while I go write a chapter on samurai birth, please leave a review. XD_


	30. Three Loses and a Gain

_30 chapters and 90 reviews! You guys are awesome!_

_Anyways, I left you guys with such a mean cliffhanger. So here's the new chapter!_

_Oh, and another thing! This is kind of late but I want to give credit to kitten9322 for the Healing Symbol idea. kitten9322 gave me that idea to use in this story. So yeah… More Depressing Chapter Time!_

Later that night in Mexico City, Antonio and Jayden were sitting next to each other at the airport. Antonio's parents were sitting across from them. They just got done checking in their baggage and going through security so all that was left to do was to wait for their plane. Their three weeks in Mexico were coming to an end.

"I can't believe it's already time to go home." Antonio started a conversation with Jayden, kicking his feet up on his carry-on bag in front of him. He was a little tired from his last minute shopping trips and packing his suitcases. Vacations are fun but they were very exhausting once it ended and it was time to travel again.

"Yeah, it was fun while it lasted." Jayden nodded. "It's a bittersweet ending. I want to go home but… I like it here. Your family is so lively. I haven't been to a good family reunion in a while… well, it's the only family reunion I've ever been to if you don't count the samurai reunions."

"Have you ever been to a reunion with just the Shibas?"

"No, it's very unclear how many Shibas are still alive." Jayden said with a sigh. "They might all be dead for all I know."

"What about your mother's side?" Antonio asked. Jayden and Lauren never told him anything about their mother's side of the family. It was always the father's family being mentioned. He thought it was because he was the head of the Shiba clan, leader of all samurais. But now that he thought about it again, someone in the story is missing. Traditionally, it takes a male _and_ a female to make a baby.

"She was a foster child. I heard she aged-out of the foster care system and never got adopted or something like that." Jayden explained. "Then, my dad met her on the streets when he saved her from a nighlok. He nursed her back to health, they chatted, fell in love, got married, and Lauren was born not too long after. My mom came into the Shiba home and never left. She stayed and took care of Lauren and I while my dad did all the dirty work on the battlefield."

"Oh, that's interesting." Antonio commented. "How come you never told me?"

"You never asked." Jayden shrugged. He isn't exactly what someone would call an open-book. But Antonio is basically his brother. Telling his brother a little side fact about his mother wouldn't hurt.

"…We are now boarding first class…repeat…" A flight attendant informed the plane passengers including Jayden and Antonio.

Antonio and Jayden relaxed in their seats. The attendant hasn't called their seats yet and it would be a while until first class got comfortable on the plane. Antonio slouched lower in his seat and closed his eyes.

"So you like Mexico amigo?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah, from what I've seen in your part of town, this place is pretty cool." Jayden told him.

"Good, because next time we come here, I'm taking you to Cancun."

* * *

"_You're doing great Mia."_

"_Keep on pushing."_

"_I see her head."_

"_I know you're tired but you have to stay awake."_

"_Stay awake…"_

"_Mia…Mia!"_

These are the words Mike heard coming out of people's mouths on the other side of the door. He sat alone on the hallway floor shaking. He was scared out of his mind. And it hasn't been a very good day for him either. One of students yelled at him, and now this. It's not a bad thing Mia is giving birth but it had some bad effects.

First of all, Mia wasn't in a healthy state when her water broke. By all the screaming and shouting he heard coming out of the room, Mike could easily tell things weren't looking up for Mia. If she passes out, then they weren't sure if they could wake her up again. That's why Emily and Lauren were in there. This leads to another bad effect. Lauren and Emily are willing to risk their own lives to save Mia. They both mastered the healing symbol and tried it on various cuts they received but Mike couldn't be too sure about their safety. Their cuts were little things compared to a woman giving birth.

"_Just one push left and she should be out…"_

Mike rose to his feet and leaned his ear to the door closer. He almost fell back from sitting on the ground for such a long time but he managed to stay up and listen to everything going on in the room. It sounded like things were calming down.

"_Congratulations Kevin and Mia De-Tiege. It's a girl."_

"_Yay!"_

Mike smiled brightly. That was Catherine and Emily's voices he just heard along with a baby crying. The next generation of the wind and water family is here. And although she's early, she sounded healthy and alive from what Mike could hear. He kept on listening to test his theory.

"_Would you like to hold her Mia? ...Mia!"_

"_Mia, snap out of it! Everything is alright! Get up!"_

"_Emily and Lauren, you have to do the symbol right now! Hurry!"_

Mike froze and his smile fell from his face. Mia's… dying. Well, she's going to die if Emily and Lauren don't do the symbol right.

"_Okay, let's do this." Emily pushed out her hand in front of Lauren. "Family together?"_

_Lauren placed her hand on top of Emily's. "Samurai forever."_

"You can do it guys." Mike encouraged them from the closed door. He hopes they can hear him. "I love you Emily. I love you too Lauren." Mike paced. The symbol was taking longer than usual. "Please make the symbol work… I can't lose my two sisters and my wife all at the same time."

"_We have two more strokes left and the symbol will be complete." Lauren said, staring at the floating healing kanji in the air. The kanji was a mixture of yellow and red. It made Lauren dizzy. The girls decided it would be quicker and more powerful to make one giant symbol instead of two small symbols._

"_Yeah… sure, I'm ready." Emily held her head. The world felt like it was spinning around her. But she never gave up. Mia needed saving._

_Kevin was on one side of the room keep close to Catherine, who was cleaning his baby. Ji had already taken care of Mia and done all he could. Now all he could do was prepare her for the healing symbol and hope it works._

Mike stopped pacing and leaned his ear back on the door. There was complete silence on the other side. After five long seconds, Mike heard screams and two loud crashes. The water and wind baby began to cry again. The green samurai felt like he was going to go insane if he doesn't see what's happening on the other side. He couldn't take the suspense anymore. With a heavy hand, Mike opened the doors roughly.

He looked around the room slowly. Mia was lying on her back, eyes closed, tucked into bed with IVs in one of her hands. She didn't make the slightest flinch in her slumber. Mike silently prayed she was just taking a power nap after pushing a body out of her you-know-where. Kevin sat in a chair right next to Mia's bed, holding their newborn lovingly. He was so mesmerized by the tiny body in his arms, that he didn't even realize Mike entered the room.

Something caught Mike's eye. Next to Kevin, Ji was putting Lauren in a bed. And next to Lauren's bed was his wife, Emily. The forest samurai rushed to her side.

"Emy?" Mike squeezed Emily's hand, desperately trying to wake her up. Emily simply turned on to her side in her sleep, completely unaware her husband was trying to wake her. "Emily?"

"You should let her rest…" Catherine told him in her usual soothing voice. She could sense his distress.

"No…"

"Mike…dear…"

"No!" Mike slammed his fist into the wall and walked out of the Shiba house furiously. He's going to find the black flower. He knows he is.

Ji gave his wife a sympathetic look. "Are you…?"

Catherine shook her head and didn't say a word. She pushed Emily's body back on the bed and propped her head on a pillow. Once she was sure Emily was comfortable, she sat on Mia's bed in front of Kevin.

"She's precious." Catherine offered the new father a smile. She poked her pinky finger in the baby's tiny fist. "Have you decided on a name for her yet?"

Kevin looked at the table graph hanging in the hallway. The score was tied at ten to ten. He looked at his daughter and then to Mia. Mia still wants to name her Breezie Aquanetta and he still wanted to name her Aquanetta Breezie. This created a major conflict between them but they wanted to forget about it and decide on a name together.

Now, their early daughter is in Kevin's arms nameless and Mia was way out of it. They don't know when Mia will wake. They don't know if the healing symbol worked properly.

"Yes, I have." Kevin gestured for Catherine to come closer to him so he could whisper the name in her ear.

"That's beautiful." Catherine stood up and stretched. She walked over to Ji, who's sitting on Lauren's bed, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "We did the best we could. I love you."

"I love you too." Ji kissed his wife's left hand, where her wedding ring is. He never planned on getting married. It just wasn't his "thing". Also, he didn't have time to settle down for his own life. He had a responsibility to care and train whatever generations of samurai were thrown at him. Since the nighloks' defeat and since he met Catherine, Ji became a happy man. He couldn't ask for more.

"Would you like some tea darling?"

"Thanks… honey." Ji grinned. Catherine left. The room fell back in silence. He turned his attention off Lauren and turned to Kevin. "Aren't your arms tired?"

"I don't know when they will." Kevin rocked his baby. "I still can't believe I made her with Mia."

Ji nodded. Watching Kevin hold his daughter warmed his heart. It was just like the first time Josh held Lauren. Josh was tall and muscular like Kevin; the wind and water baby was tiny and delicate like Lauren was as a baby. It's a cute sight to see a baby drowning in manly muscle.

Ji suddenly felt something vibrate the bed he's sitting on. He didn't have to look far to see what it was. Lying by Lauren is her phone that seemed like it fell out of her sweatpants' pocket. He picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?" Ji said.

_"Oh, hey Ji."_ Jayden replied. _"Where's Lauren? Whatever, Antonio and I just got off the plane. We're getting our luggage now. Are guys on your way to get us?"_

"Um… yeah, sure." Ji lied. "We'll be there soon." Due to Mia's early labor, he forgot all about Antonio and Jayden coming home tonight. Ji mentally cursed himself and hung up the phone. Then, he searched through Lauren's contact list in her phone. He dialed Cody's number. Fortunately, he answered his phone.

"_What's up cheeky?"_ Cody said on the other line, not knowing he was speaking to Ji.

"Hey Cody, this is Ji." Ji told him. "Can you do me a quick favor?"

"_Alright, what is it?"_

"Can you pick up Antonio and Jayden from the airport? Everyone here is… busy."

"_I don't know. It's kind of late."_

"Lauren is unconscious."

"_I'm on my way."_

Ji hung up the phone once again and sighed. It's been a long day.

_I finished it! Finally! I worked so hard on this chapter! I ignored homework to do this. So y'all better be happy. Lol, JK. I But seriously, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review! :D_


	31. Rude Awakening

_Snow day from school! Lol, here's the next chapter! :D_

Early in morning the next day, Cody walked into the Shiba house's infirmary casually and sat on Lauren's bed. After he picked up Jayden and Antonio from the airport, he didn't go home. He spent the rest of his night by Lauren's side. Catherine even had to force him to at least get a few hours of sleep on couch. When Ji explained to Cody what happened before he got to the Shiba's, it hit him hard. Lauren told him about the healing symbol from time to time but he never took it seriously. He thought Lauren would be fine.

Suddenly, Emily woke up, screaming to the top of her lungs. Cody jumped to his feet, and pushed Emily back on the bed.

"Emily, shut up!" Lauren said weakly. She pulled up her duvet over her head. Cody smiled at his girlfriend. Emily's screaming woke her up. Lauren doesn't like it when people wake her up. It made her cranky.

"Sorry, I had a bad dream." Emily apologized. She laid back into her pillow. "Thanks Cody."

"At least you girls are awake now." Cody told them and sat back on Lauren's bed.

Emily nodded and turned her head away. She quickly regretted it and screamed again. Mia's bed was next to hers. The pink samurai was still asleep, untouched, and unmoved. If Emily didn't know better, she would think Mia is sleeping peacefully. All of the memories of last night flooded her mind.

"Did she wake up at all since we did the spell?" Emily asked Cody, pointing to Mia. Cody frowned and didn't answer her.

Lauren poked her head out of her sheets and looked at who Emily was talking about. Tears began to form in her eyes. She took Cody's hand and rubbed it lovingly.

"You can tell us." Lauren tried to sit up but she was too weak. The healing symbol drained every ounce of energy she had. "We can take it. The symbol worked, right?"

Cody shook his head. "I'm sorry to say this but… Mia hasn't woken up since you guys did the spell. Ji came in here a few hours ago and said it could be awhile until we find out if the symbol worked. Possibly days…"

"Days?" Emily cried. She couldn't wait that long. She watched as Cody kissed Lauren's forehead and comforted her. It reminded her of a certain someone – her husband. "Where's Mike? I need Mike." Emily clutched the bed sheets. "I feel like I'm going to go crazy… Where's my husband?"

Cody gave the yellow samurai a sympathetic look. Emily married Mike about a month and a half ago and Cody could tell the couple was still in honeymoon mode. He didn't plan on marrying Lauren any time soon but what's the difference? He met Lauren at a restaurant almost five months ago and he already worried about her safety and health. If Cody was in Emily's shoes and he woke up to find Lauren gone, he would lose his marbles too.

"Mike… um, he left last night." Cody told Emily. "Catherine said he left after you passed out and didn't return."

"He went home… to our apartment?" Emily asked. "Be more specific Cody!"

"I don't know if he went home Emily. His car is still in the driveway."Cody tried to stay calm. He didn't want to raise his voice at someone that wasn't in their right state of mind. "I'm sorry, okay? Geez, I came here an hour after he left. I never saw him. I'm just passing on the message Catherine told me."

Emily cried harder. Where could Mike have gone? He wouldn't just leave her for no reason. She sat up in her bed quickly, ignoring the pounding pain in her head, and stood up. She didn't stand for long though, her knees became weak like the rest of her body and she fell onto the wooden floor. Cody tried to help her but Emily refused.

"Get away from me!" Emily shouted at him. When Cody backed away, she held onto the dresser in between her and Lauren's bed and stood up again. She was shaking but that didn't stop her. Slowly, Emily walked out of the room, and made her way to the front door. If Mike's car is still in the driveway, then that means he couldn't have gone too far.

Cody turned his attention back to Lauren. She was crying equally as bad as Emily. He cupped his hand on her cheek and wiped her tears with his thumb. "Are you mad at me too cheeky?"

"I'm not cheeky." Lauren gave Cody a small smile. Then, she went back to being serious. "You came here an hour after we passed out?"

"Yeah, Ji asked me to pick up your brother and Antonio from the airport." Cody explained to her. "I stayed here all night because… well, I was worried about you. You scared me half to death."

"Aw, I scared you?" Lauren kissed Cody. "You're the sweetest guy I have ever met."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it." Cody chuckled. "Should I get Em…?"

"No, I have a feeling she'll be back." Lauren yawned. "If she's feeling crappy like me, she'll come back. And trust me; if she finds Mike too, he's going to take care of her. He would never let her walk around in that condition."

"Okay."

"Apart from Mike, how is everyone else? Where's Jayden?" Lauren questioned him. She missed so much when she was unconscious. "Is Kevin and the baby alright?"

"They're in the kitchen having breakfast." Cody told her. "And the baby… she's a cutie-pie. You have to see her."

"Too bad, I can't feel my legs. I have never been this exhausted in my life."

"Come on, I know you want to." Cody turned his back to Lauren. "All aboard the piggy-back express."

"Yay." Lauren wrapped her arms around his neck happily and rested her aching head on his shoulder.

* * *

Emily closed the front door to the Shiba house behind her and held on to the door handle. She was thankful she didn't bump into anyone on her way out. If she did, they would pick her up without a problem and put her back in bed. She looked around the yard. She smiled. Mike was leaning against a tree. He seemed tired.

Emily noticed he had no idea she came outside so she let go of the door handle in attempt to walk again but with no surprise, she fell. That was her fifth time falling since she got out of bed. This time though, she couldn't get up. Emily's little energy was gone.

"Mike!" Emily shouted so Mike could hear her. "Mike…"

"Emily?" Mike turned his head, realizing he's been caught. Ever since leaving the house, he hasn't seen or spoken to anybody.

"Mike…" Emily cried into her sleeves on the patio.

Mike's heart shattered at the sight of his wife crying out his name. He was grateful she woke up but not like this. He rushed to Emily's side and picked her up carefully, bridal style. Then, he placed her on the patio swing so she could lie down. Emily rubbed her red nose in her sleeve. Once she calmed down, she punched Mike's arm.

"Where did you go last night?" Emily coughed. She didn't even give Mike time to reply. "Don't leave like that ever again! I almost had a heart attack when Cody said you never came home and no one knew where you went!"

"I couldn't handle the stress in the house." Mike sighed. "So I went into the forest to calm my nerves and while I was there, I started searching for the black flower. I couldn't find it so I went home to rest."

"You have got to be kidding me! The black flower is impossible to find."

"Nothing is impossible to find in the forest when you're a forest samurai." Mike shrugged.

"Can I come with you?" Emily gazed into his eyes with her tired vision. "To find the flower..."

"Come with me? Emily, you can't even walk. No."

"Please…" Emily started to cry again. "I want to be with you right now."

"Fine, you can come." Mike picked Emily back up and walked to their car. "But first, we're going home so you can finish resting, got that?"

"Loud and clear." Emily replied. Mike made her comfortable on the backseat so she could sleep on their way home.

"Stop crying. You're going to make me cry." Mike kissed her forehead and got into the driver's seat. Soon enough, both of them were off Shiba property.


	32. Needing Patience

_Sorry this chapter took longer than usual. I kept on debating with myself about how to end this chapter. Put it in the next chapter or put it at the end of this chapter? Grr… Anyways, I made up my mind. Hope you enjoy! :)_

In the kitchen at the Shiba house, despite the troubles they were currently facing, the Samurai Family enjoyed their sunny morning. The house was busy with people so Catherine and Ji made breakfast with a little hop in their step. Antonio and Jayden sat at the bar table, telling everyone about their trip to Mexico. Kevin sat at the dinner table, rocking his daughter in her baby swing with his foot gently. Because Mia went into early labor at the Shiba house, he didn't have any of their daughter's belongings ready for her arrival. But Cody and Jayden were kind enough to pick up several items such as diapers, bottles, clothes, and other necessary newborn things from Kevin and Mia's house.

"Here you go sweetie." Catherine said, handing Kevin a baby bottle. "It should be the perfect temperature for her."

"Thanks." Kevin accepted the bottle and placed it on the table. He made sure his daughter was comfortable and secure in his arms before picking up the bottle again and feeding it her. "I really wish Mia was awake."

"Patience." Catherine told him. "We all need to have a little patience in our life from time to time."

Kevin nodded and kept his eyes on his daughter. Ever since last night, when she was born, Kevin never said much. He's been very quiet lately. No one bothered him unless it was an emergency. They all knew Kevin was having a hard time dealing with his daughter on his own and not knowing if his wife would wake up soon.

"Beep, beep, beep…" Cody came in and dropped Lauren in a chair across from Kevin. "Sorry, the piggy-back express ran out of gas. Come again next time."

"Look who's finally awake." Jayden hugged his sister. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Lauren returned the embrace. "How was Mexico? Did you have Mexican food without me?"

Jayden chuckled. "It was great."

"That's good." Lauren smiled. She turned her head to Kevin and then to the baby he's holding. She couldn't believe her eyes. It wasn't her first time seeing the new samurai. She was in the room when Kevin and Mia's daughter came out. But she never got to actually examine her. The baby has Mia's black hair and Kevin's light brown eyes. Like Cody said, she's a cutie-pie.

"She's adorable!" Lauren exclaimed at the baby. "If I wasn't so weak right now, I'd steal you right out of daddy's hands." Kevin grinned slightly. If everyone is cooing over how cute his daughter (that isn't even a day old yet) is, then it meant he and Mia did something right.

"Uh oh, baby stealer alert." Antonio chuckled and looked at Kevin. "If you can't find her, check Lauren first."

Lauren rolled her eyes at Antonio. "So did you name her?" She asked Kevin. The Breezie vs. Aquanetta poll was basically useless at this point and Mia never told her if she and Kevin worked out their naming issues.

"Her name is…" Kevin told Lauren the new samurai's name in a low, cracking tone.

"That's beautiful." Lauren gave the new father a warm smile. "You and Mia picked nice names."

Again, Kevin simply nodded, not wanting to get into details about his naming choice. He placed the bottle back on the table and moved his daughter head up to his shoulder so he could burp her. Kevin yawned. He was exhausted from last night's events. Catherine offered to take care of the wind and water newborn but Kevin refused. He wanted to care for _his_ daughter himself.

Ji walked over and gave Kevin a light tap on the shoulder. "She's sleeping." Ji gestured to the sleeping child in Kevin's arms. "While she sleeps, you should get some sleep too."

"Ji…" Kevin started but Ji held up his hand to signal for him to be silent and not argue with him.

"There's a quiet room for you two down the hall." Ji picked up the baby swing, indicating he's going to carry it for Kevin. "Go ahead, I'm following."

With a loud sigh, Kevin got out of his chair and carried his daughter to the room Ji is talking about. Ji shook his head sadly and brought a few baby items Kevin would need to the room. Lauren watched them leave with a frown and looked at the others who had similar expressions on their faces.

"I feel really bad for him." Lauren pulled her knees up to her chest in the chair. "This obviously isn't very easy for him to handle by himself."

"He won't let us help him though." Cody sat in the chair Kevin was sitting in just a couple seconds ago. "I thought he was going to bite my head off for setting up the bassinet."

"I just hope Kevin doesn't block us out completely." Jayden said from his bar stool. "That would be bad."

"Yeah, poor guy." Antonio added on in the conversation. "He isn't very emotionally stable either."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be alright soon darlings." Catherine assured them, trying to lift their spirits. They were in all smiles before Ji basically forced Kevin into taking a nap. "Anyways, I don't mean to get off topic but do you guys think Emily woke up?"

"Um, uh, she…" Lauren and Cody looked at each other nervously. Neither of them planned on explaining Emily's little runaway scene yet.

"It's okay. I'm just testing you." Catherine pointed to the window above the kitchen sink. "I saw her leave with Mike a while ago."

"At least she found Mike." Lauren placed her hand over her heart. She could feel her heartbeat slowing down as she took a few deep breaths. "She scared the crap out of me earlier."

"Got that right." Cody agreed with his girlfriend. He didn't mean to hurt Emily's feelings or cause in drama. It gave him a guilty feeling but knowing Emily got to her husband safely made him feel better.

* * *

Emily curled herself into a ball in the corner of the couch and watched the clouds pass the sun through the glass doors that led to her patio. She didn't want to turn on the television. The lights flashing in between scenes gave her a headache. And having a headache reminded her of last night. Emily has had better nights and last night wasn't one of them.

Mike sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I got paid yesterday."

"That's wonderful." For the first time that day, Emily smiled. She moved her face closer to Mike's to kiss him but Mike pushed her back.

"I don't think I deserved it."

"What? Why?" Emily couldn't come up with a decent reason as to why Mike thinks he didn't deserve his first pay as a dance instructor. Mike has been dancing before they met. Being able to teach a group of people how to dance as a job is a dream come true for him.

"Evany is still on my mind." Mike confessed. "She just… I don't know. Her speech really hit me. It had me thinking. Can you imagine being born into a family that dances so flawlessly without an effort? And you're just… there… too afraid to dance because you're not as good as the rest of the family? Her father was on flipping Broadway for crying out loud."

"No, I can't imagine that because I don't dance." Emily shrugged and looked out the patio door again. "I couldn't lift a sword correctly when I first came to the Shiba house. Remember that? I learned differently but I eventually mastered it."

"True, I wasn't focused when I first came to the Shiba house. I don't like meditating. So although I learned to focus differently from everyone else on my own time… I eventually got it." Mike grinned and pulled Emily for a big kiss. "That's it! Evany needs time. I just need to find a different technique to teach her. Well, you know… if she shows up for class next week."

"I have a feeling she'll be back. Don't worry about it." Emily said with certainty. The two sat in silence until Emily suddenly remembered why she was home and not harassing Lauren at the Shiba house. "So… the black flower?"

"If your feeling better tonight, we can go camping." Mike suggested.

"I like that idea but what about the others? Won't they be suspicious?"

"We can tell two people about our little adventure but they have to keep their lips sealed. I want it to be a surprise if we find it."

Emily smirked. "This is going to be interesting."


	33. Bath, Mommy, and Camping

_Hm, I haven't mentioned the "black flower" in a while. It's mentioned a little in chapter 11 and chapter 17 (if any of you are wondering). I'll probably summarize it again in the next chapter. No, black flowers aren't real… I think… Anyways…_

_101 reviews! Yay! Thanks for the support guys! :D_

_P.S. I'm not telling you the baby's name for a reason :P_

After dinner, all of the samurais except Mia, Emily, and Mike decided to hang out in the living room. Another samurai that isn't there was Ji. Ji was outside getting some garden work down before the sun went down completely.

Antonio and Jayden were digging through shelves and drawers in the room for movies. They didn't have much to Antonio's disappointment. He thought the Shiba sibling would've at least bought a couple more movies after the nighloks were defeated three years ago. The siblings simply shrugged and told him they didn't find much entertainment in televisions.

Still weak, Lauren lied on the couch with her legs resting on Cody's lap. They spoke to each other and laughed. When their conversations went dead, one of them would bring up something random and another conversation would begin. Lauren really appreciated Cody's company. Since she currently couldn't walk, Cody would get her anything she needed that wasn't in her reach.

Kevin sat in a lazy boy couch, just got done feeding his daughter. He rocked the chair slowly while holding her in his arms, close to his warm chest. The newborn looked up at her father. Kevin was cuddling and cooing with her, trying to keep her content before she dozed off in another nap. Just because newborns can't hold a toy yet, didn't mean they don't get bored. Fortunately, Kevin's small actions kept her peaceful.

Catherine sat in another couch with her legs up, reading a magazine while she hummed to herself. She occasionally looked up and surveyed the room to make sure everyone was doing okay. Sometimes Catherine felt like a samurai mother and not just because Lauren called her mom. She met the rest of the current samurai group a couple months ago and they welcomed her in the family without hesitation. They cared about her and she cared for them.

"Lemonade for my damsel in distress?" Cody extended his arm to pick up a glass of lemonade on the small table next to him. He offered it to Lauren.

"Thanks… my knight in shining armor." Lauren accepted the drink with a giggle. She sipped some of it with a straw gave it back to Cody so he could place it on the table again. "You know what I want?"

"What?"

"A bath." Lauren told him. "I haven't showered all day. I feel gross."

Catherine looked up from her magazine and gave Lauren a smile. "You can shower in the morning darling. You're still wobbly on your feet and I don't want you to slip and hurt yourself in the tub."

"But mom…"

"But Lauren…"

"What if I got someone to bathe me?" Lauren pointed to her boyfriend. "Like him? Cody, will you bathe me?"

Cody's eyes widened. "Okay, first of all, your brother is all of a sudden giving me a death stare." Cody winced as Jayden watched him speak to his sister. "And second of all, you have fifty swords covering every inch of your house."

"So?"

"So? Your brother can easily pick up the sword in the corner of this room and decapitate me." Cody turned to Jayden, who nodded his head. "With that being said; I will not bathe you."

"Smart kid." Jayden chuckled. "And by the way, there are fifty-two swords in this house."

"Yeah…" Cody scratched his head awkwardly. His girlfriend is heavily protected. He glanced at the time on his phone and jumped out of the couch. He gave Lauren an apologetic look. "I have to go. I'm working a night shift at the restaurant tonight."

"Aww…" Lauren whined. She shared a goodbye kiss with Cody. "Thanks for staying with me. You're sweet."

"You're sweeter." Cody gave her another kiss on her hand before leaving the Shiba house.

"Great, now who's going to bathe me?" Lauren crossed her arms over her chest. "Mom, Jayden scared away my boyfriend."

"I'm sure he meant well." Catherine laughed softly. "If it satisfies you, I can give you a sponge bath."

Lauren stuck out her tongue in disgust. "I'd rather wait until tomorrow."

"Suit yourself." Catherine shrugged. She gazed around the room and saw Kevin getting up. "Is everything alright Kevin? Do you need help?"

The elder woman tried to stay out of the blue samurai's way when it came to raising his child but sometimes she couldn't help herself. Kevin is new to the whole "father thing". Mia actually has a lot of knowledge on babies because she worked at a daycare. But Mia still hasn't woken so if Kevin needed assistance on anything baby related, he went Catherine.

"I'm going to change her." Kevin said. Catherine nodded.

Kevin walked down the hall and rolled his eyes. Catherine and Ji have been following his every move all day like he's going to break his fragile child. He hopes tomorrow will be easier because he couldn't deal with their pressure right now.

When he got to his room, he gently placed his daughter on a small blanket on the bed and got out the things he'd need to change her diaper. Kevin grinned at his daughter while he changed her.

"You're so tiny." Kevin said, like the baby could understand him. "Can you believe you're almost a day old?" He chuckled slightly. "I can't."

Kevin threw the dirty diaper in a small trash can. He would take it outside later so it didn't make the room smell. The water samurai picked up his daughter and gave her another grin. Then he frowned.

"There's someone really special that I want you to meet. I don't know how Catherine will react so we're going to go down a different hallway."

Kevin walked down the hallway and into a room that hasn't been opened since morning. He sat in a chair next to a bed. The room was completely silent. A moment of déjà vu washed over Kevin. He was sitting next to Mia. Expectedly, Mia never reacted. She just lied there, untouched, unmoved.

"This is mommy." Kevin's voice cracked. He held back his tears. "She was so excited when she found out we were having a baby. She's always wanted a child of her own. She told me she couldn't wait to feed you, bathe you, cuddle with you, and sing to you… While you were still in her tummy, she sang to you. Mommy is a pretty singer."

He looked down in his arms. Kevin and Mia's daughter already dozed off in another sleep. She breathed softly into her father's chest. Kevin felt tears strolling down his cheeks. He was so focused on his wife; he didn't notice Catherine stepped in. She went to his room to see if he finished changing his baby but he wasn't there. Catherine knew he would come in this room at some point in the day.

"I miss you Mia… wake up soon." Kevin cried. "I don't want you to miss out on our beautiful daughter growing."

Catherine made her way to Kevin and rubbed his back. She didn't say a word. She just comforted him and gave him all the time he needed to let out his emotions.

* * *

Emily and Mike arrived at the Shiba house. Mike opened the truck to their car and handed Emily some of their camping supplies. Compared to Lauren, Emily felt like a million dollars. She had put a lot of effort into the healing symbol but apparently not as much as Lauren did.

"We're going camping. We're going camping." Emily sang playfully as she pulled a yellow bag over her shoulder.

"It's already getting dark." Mike handed her a flashlight. "We probably won't cover much ground. But hey, who doesn't love camping?"

"Mia doesn't. She loves traveling in planes though."

Mike laughed. "Of course, she's a typical wind samurai."

Emily laughed with her husband and walked with him toward the woods. Her laughed turned into a frown though as she came closer to Ji. Ji crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head at the two young samurai.

"I can explain…" Mike started.

"No need to." Ji said, cutting off Mike's sentence. "It's in the past now and both of you are safe. Just please call and us where you are the next time you decide to run off."

"Yes sir." Mike and Emily chorused.

"Where are you two going?" Ji gestured to the couple's camping gear. Emily and Mike looked at each other for answers to Ji's question. "Well? What did I just tell you two?"

"We're going to search for the black flower." Emily whispered. She stared at the ground, unsure of what else to say.

"The black flower is…"

"…possible to find." Mike finished his sentence. "It's not exactly impossible if a samurai from decades ago used it. It's probably still in the forest somewhere. The forest beyond the Shiba house isn't that big. I believe it's in there somewhere, right Emily?"

"I believe it's there too." Emily agreed with her husband. She thought he was crazy at first for attempting to find it last night but she changed her mind. Like Mike said, a samurai used the black flower decades ago. Meaning: it's possible to find.

"You young samurai are going to be the death of me." Ji sighed and shook his head. "Good luck on your search… and hurry." Ji gave the couple a serious, sad expression. "The symbol didn't work. I don't know how much longer Mia has."

Emily felt she had just been hit by a truck. She practiced day and night, with or without Lauren, trying to perfect the symbol. The healing symbol didn't work, all of her hard work for nothing. Emily felt her eyes water. She grabbed on to Mike's arm and pulled him to the forest. Just because a symbol, a _spell_, wasn't enough to save her sister, didn't mean she was going to give up. She got another chance to save her.

She's going to find the black flower.


	34. Guilt

_Random Fact Time!_

_Hector David Jr. is Puerto Rican._

_You hear that Latino/Hispanic PRSS fans? He knows some Spanish too! :P_

The next day, toward noon, Lauren and Cody were sitting on a wooden bench, gazing at the lake in front of them. Lauren felt much better compared to yesterday and decided to go jogging with Cody in the forest around her house. Now, they were relaxing after their run before they went back to the Shiba house.

Lauren kicked one of her legs up on Cody's lap without much thought. He didn't care. Their relationship wasn't a unique one but Lauren loved it. They weren't too romantic and they weren't too casual with it either. Cody also teased her quite a bit. He never really meant what he said, though. She was a little scared about starting her first relationship with a stranger but knowing that Cody wasn't just into her bodily features, how she dressed, or her father's money settled her mind at ease.

Cody rubbed the leg Lauren propped up on his lap and gave her a gentle smile. "So…"

"So…"

"Summer is next month." Cody stated.

"No school!" Lauren lazily threw her arms up in the air in excitement. "I passed my final exams. Give me two more years and I could be a lawyer. That's how it works in the real world, right?"

Cody chuckled. "If everything works out and someone actually wants to hire you that fast, then yeah, sure, you can be a lawyer."

"The real world is so complicated. Three years later, and I still don't understand any of it."

"It's only complicated if you make it complicated." Cody assured her. "Trust me; I've been working since I was fifteen. Let's focus on summer, though. Do you have any plans? Are you getting a summer job rich girl?"

"No, I haven't made any plans yet." Lauren shook her head. "What do you do in the summer? Jayden and I usually stay home or volunteer somewhere. We never have much to do. A few times, we went on road trips to Harwood County. Those were really fun."

"Nice." Cody nodded. "I don't do much in the summer either. Sometimes my roommates and I will go to a couple beach parties or go to amusement parks. Remember my cousin, Amanda? She's a completely different story. You can find her hanging out with a drunken friend one day and the next day, she'll be skydiving."

"Wow, I never knew she was so wild."

"She said she hates to be bored." Cody shrugged. "I hate being bored too but I'm calmer. Different personalities; different fun."

* * *

In another part of the forest, Mike and Emily were walking mindlessly around the trees, bushes, and occasional patches of grass. They felt frustrated and pissed off. Last night, they spent hours looking for the black flower and it was nowhere in sight. By midnight, they called it a night and passed out, completely exhausted, in their camping tent. When they woke up early in the morning, they tried to enjoy their small camping trip but they couldn't get the black flower off their minds.

The couple no longer had much faith in themselves to find the magical plant.

The black flower had a lot of unbelievable healing power. It was used by many past generations of samurai when medicine wasn't as good as it is today. When a samurai woman got pregnant with a baby with both of its parent's elements, she began to slowly die (very similar to Mia's situation). But she lived. The black flower healed her. The black flower is like the healing symbol in liquid form. It's a very simple medicine to prepare but it's also a very difficult medicine to find.

Emily walked ahead of Mike, hugging herself, watching a flock of birds pass by in the sky. Mike trailed behind her, kicking an acorn with every step he took.

"Hey Em, how much acorns do you think a squirrel can hold in its mouth?" Mike asked with a chuckle. He knew Emily didn't want to talk right now. Their search for the magical plant was officially serious business now that they knew Mia won't live without it. But a little joking around every here and there was acceptable, right?

Emily didn't reply. She didn't even look at him. She just sighed and sat on a large rock, staring at the lake that was several yards from her position. Without a word, she pointed next to the lake. Mike looked at the spot she pointed at. He could see Lauren and Cody laughing on a bench by the lake.

Mike stuffed his hands into his khaki shorts' pockets and made his way over to his wife. "We can tell them if you'd like. Especially since Lauren…" Mike trailed off as he got closer to Emily. She was sobbing. "What's wrong?"

"I… Lauren and I… the symbol…" Emily stuttered, in between sobs.

"Shh…it's okay." Mike wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "What's the matter?"

"The healing symbol didn't work. Now, Mia's literally dying. I feel awful Mike. What if we don't find the flower? It's going to be my fault… Mia's going to die and it's going to be my fault!" Emily cried.

"At least we're trying…"

"What type of Earth and forest samurai are we if we can't find a damn flower?"

"Emily, listen to me." Mike said, taking a seat next to her on the rock. "It's not your fault. It's not Lauren's fault either. You ladies worked hard on that symbol. You knew the symbol could've killed you and it's a really risky kanji to make. That didn't stop you or Lauren though. It only made you girls work harder. Both of you tried and failed but like I said; you tried. I am so, so proud of you for that."

"Should we tell Lauren?" Emily sighed, looking back at the lake. "She seems… happy today."

"I think you should make that decision."

Emily thought about it for a minute. Once she made her decision, she stood up with Mike and they made their way to Lauren and Cody by the lake. Cody saw them and greeted them with a grin. Lauren grinned a little too but it quickly faded. She didn't want any drama today.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you guys here today." Cody said, breaking the awkward tension between them.

"We could say the same about you two." Mike replied, sitting on the second bench next to Lauren.

Emily didn't move. Instead, she turned her attention to Cody and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I…" Emily struggled with her words as she began to choke up again. Her emotions have been haywire lately. She couldn't control them. "I'm so, so sorry for taking out my anger on you yesterday. I don't know what came over me."

"It's cool Emily." Cody held out his fist, which Emily gladly bumped with her own fist. "All of the memories from that night must've been hard for you to process after such a rough wake up."

Emily nodded. She glanced over at Lauren, who wasn't happy with her. She had run off, like Mike did, without a word, causing Lauren to worry like crazy. The yellow samurai politely asked Lauren to take her leg off of Cody's so she could sit in between them. Emily hugged Lauren.

"I'm sorry." Emily told her. "Ji said I worried everyone sick, especially you. Family shouldn't just get up and leave without a reason, right Mike?"

"I'm sorry too." Mike smiled brightly at the couple and his wife. "It wasn't my wisest idea."

"It's okay." Lauren pulled away from Emily's embrace. "Just stop being so mushy. I was actually enjoying my afternoon with my boyfriend." Lauren gave Emily a look that immediately sent her a mental message. Emily got up from where she was sitting, allowing Lauren to sit closer to Cody. Then, she moved to the spot Lauren was sitting in. "By the way, what are you two doing all the way out here?"

Emily bit her lip and glanced at Mike nervously. She wasn't sure how to tell Lauren about Mia's condition. She mentally prayed that Ji already told the red samurai. Mike could sense Emily's distress and spoke for her.

"You guys and Ji are the only people that know we're out here." Mike explained to Lauren and Cody. "We're searching for the black flower."

"The black flower is…"

"Not you too." Mike rolled his eyes at Lauren. He knew what she was going to say. Emily told him and Ji's sentence came out exactly like Lauren's until he could cut him off. "There's no easy way for me to say this…"

"What?" Lauren started to feel herself tense up. It wasn't often Mike got serious.

"Mia's dying… literally dying." Mike informed her. "Ji said the healing symbol didn't work. The only thing that can save her now is the black flower."

"The symbol… didn't… but how?" Lauren jumped out of her seat and gave Mike a frightened look. "I worked my _ass_ off on that spell! How could it _not_ work? I suffered yesterday for nothing? I couldn't walk!"

"Lauren?"

"Shut up Cody!"

Cody shook his head and got out of his seat too. He walked over to Lauren and started to pull her away from the forest samurai. She looked ready to kill.

"Maybe that's enough secrets for today." Cody said to Mike and Emily. The couple nodded their heads in agreement. It wasn't easy news to receive.

"Please don't tell anyone else in the house." Mike reminded him. "It might be for the best too."

"We won't." Cody promised and gave his girlfriend a quick kiss. "Let's go Lauren."

"We'll look out for the flower." Lauren told the couple before walking off with Cody. She began to sob like Emily did earlier. "I want to see Mia now."

"We will."

"I feel… guilty, very guilty. What if Mia doesn't live?"

Cody gave her another kiss and kept on walking. He didn't know how to reply to that.

* * *

At the Shiba house, in Kevin's room, the new father was dozing on and off in sleep. He was lying in bed next to his daughter, who was sleeping as the usual, still unable to be awake for any longer than two hours. Kevin placed two large pillows on the side of the bed his daughter was sleeping on to keep her from accidentally rolling over in her sleep, and falling off the bed when he wasn't looking. He glanced at the clock on the wall and back to his baby. He stuck his finger in her tight fist.

"I love you so much." Kevin whispered to his sleeping child. "My love for you will never change little one. It's just… I really wish I knew the risks of having you."

_Thank you sooo much for the reviews! They are all so sweet! I'm sorry this chapter took a while. As usual, I was busy with school work. Also, this chapter was a little challenging because I got writer's block. Anyways, don't be a stranger! Review and let your opinion be heard! :D_


	35. Tired With No Hope

_Thanks for the encouraging reviews! Here's a... different type of chapter! :)  
_

Three long, draining, hopeless days passed for Emily and Mike. There is absolutely no sign of the black flower. Mia's condition is still stable for the moment. Anything could happen in a matter of minutes though. The couple is so desperate, they searched metropolitan parks close by the Shiba house to see if they would find the black flower on the parks' nature trails. But they had no luck. The plant wasn't there.

Today, the yellow and green samurais were accompanied by Lauren and Cody in the forest. Lauren had calmed down from her verbal attack on Mike. Mike had nothing to do with her mastering the healing symbol. Therefore, he did not deserve the yelling he received from Lauren after telling her the symbol was unsuccessful. Cody figured he would tag along in the search and bond more with Lauren since she currently wasn't studying in law school.

The search remained quiet for the most part. When there was sound, it was from ruffling leaves, rocks being moved, or simply the wind making its way through hallow trees. No one had a decent conversation to bring up without causing a disagreement or a crying scene that people would see in television dramas.

Kevin still doesn't know about the search. He also doesn't know his beloved wife might not make it to the end of the week. He hasn't spoken to Mike and Emily since his daughter was born. Ji, keeping his promise to not share anything he knew about the black flower search, told Kevin that Mike and Emily needed some space to sort out some unidentified issues and go to work to pay their expensive bills. Kevin believed him. He and the young couple weren't joined by the hip so he stayed out of their way. He continued to care for his daughter with Catherine and occasionally Antonio and Jayden's help. He didn't want to go home yet, not without Mia.

Antonio and Jayden also don't know about the search for the black flower. They were both quite oblivious about the whole thing. Antonio went to work every weekday as the usual while Jayden was finishing up his final exams in school. Earlier in the day, Jayden asked Lauren where she was headed out so early in the morning. Sometimes she went out for morning jogs but she wasn't in her jogging gear which made her brother a little suspicious. Lauren told him she promised Cody she would have breakfast with him at a restaurant. It wasn't a lie. Cody did invite her to eat out but she hasn't been home since. Jayden shrugged it off. His sister is a grown woman and knows how to take care of herself.

Ji and Catherine have a house of their own. Ji moved in with Catherine after their marriage. They made frequent visits to the Shiba house when Lauren and Jayden needed company after the other samurais moved out. Since things have been looking down for most of the samurais, Catherine and Ji stayed at the Shiba house to care for them. They weren't necessarily there as maids, but as parental figures that wanted to help their young family going through tough times. Their assistance in the house is all voluntary and the samurais appreciated it. Antonio showed his appreciation by dropping by Ji and Catherine's house to make sure everything was in order before he went to work.

* * *

Evany's mother, Selena Thompson, walked out of her house with her youngest daughter. Selena had her brown hair in a high messy bun and wore high heels to match her sophisticated, businesswoman style. Her daughter, Kaylee, was dressed in a black leotard and carrying a small bag with a princess on it. She was a little tall for five years old and walked on her toes quite a bit.

Selena took Kaylee's hand and helped her in the family's minivan. Kaylee has a ballet recital in less than an hour and she was running late. Her father and one of her brothers were already in the vehicle and ready to go. Just as Selena buckled Kaylee in her seat, she noticed her other daughter, Evany, stepping out of her friend's car. Selena waved at her friend's mother, who drove off after returning gesture, and gave Evany a confused look.

"There were no classes today?" Selena asked Evany. She wasn't expecting her daughter to be home so soon. Usually, about three times a week after school, Evany would go to the recreation center to take Mike's hip-hop dance class.

"No, the lady at the front desk said he hasn't showed up for work all week." Evany replied.

"He might be sick." Selena sighed and pointed to her siblings and father in the vehicle. "Kaylee has a ballet recital today. You can join us if you'd like. Staying home is also an option. Chad's staying home. Jason is coming with us though."

"I'll just stay home with Chad." Evany said, with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Selena almost immediately noticed the tone in her daughter's voice. Before Evany could walk into the house, Selena grabbed her shoulder and made her look at her.

"Is there something wrong Evy?" Selena asked her daughter with concern. Lately, Evany hasn't been speaking much. Selena dismissed it as a teenage mood swing but now she was starting to make her worry that something was actually wrong with her. "Does it have to do with school? There's only three weeks left until you can to leave for the summer."

"Everything at school is fine mommy." Evany shook her shoulder so her mother could take her hand off. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"Okay." Selena got into the driver's seat and backed the vehicle down the driveway slowly while keeping her eyes on Evany, who was walking into the house. "Well, go take a nap or something. If you're hungry, ask Chad to make you some food."

"I will." Evany gave her mother a goodbye wave and closed the front door of her house behind her. She placed her shoes at the bottom the coat closet, dropped her school book bag by the dining table, and sat next to Chad on the couch in the living room.

Chad and Jason are Evany's twenty years old brothers. Jason teaches contemporary and jazz at their father's theatre. Chad teaches hip-hop like Mike. Unlike Mike and his twin, he owns his own dance studio with one of his best friends.

"Hey Ev, what's up?" Chad greeted his little sister while flipping through the channels on the television. He offered her a bowl of popcorn."Popcorn?"

"No thanks." Evany mumbled to him.

Chad frowned at the sound of his sister's voice. She didn't talk much but when she did, she was perky and joyful. "Did you have a bad day at school?"

"Why do you and mommy think I had a bad day at school? I'm happy at school."

"I was just wondering. You seem glum."

"I'm tired." Evany lied. She began to make her way to the stairs. "There's nothing wrong."

Evany walked into her room and sat at her desk. She opened up her laptop and starting typing in the website address for the recreation center she takes hip-hop dance classes at. On her first day of dance class, Mike told her and the rest of the students that if they ever needed him outside of the recreation center, he was just a phone call away.

Evany wasn't upset with him anymore. Instead, she feels like she owes him an apology for yelling at him last week. And that is what she's going to give him. Once she got his number from the website, she dialed it into her cell phone and listened to it ring.

"_Hey, this is Mike Rivera. Sorry, I'm not at the phone right now…"_

Evany groaned. Mike didn't answer. Although the last thing Evany would want for Mike is an illness, she hoped he was sick like her mother said and not mad with her. Evany doesn't know what she'd do if she drove a man away from his job because of her attitude.

_I updated! Yes! Please review! I know the first half of this chapter isn't exactly my style of writing. But I tried something. Also, I plan on putting Evany in the story again soon. Hope you liked it! :D_


	36. Easie Breezie

_Someone asked the magic question! Am I doing a Megaforce fic like this? Hm... I don't know. A lot of authors that have Samurai stories like this made their stories while the season was still going on. I didn't post this story until there were 2(?) episodes left of the season. But I'm thinking of doing one-shot(s) for Megaforce. I'm not promising anything. I'm just thinking about it…_

_And thanks to the reviewer that asked that question! I read your review before I went to bed and I went from tired and pissed off to bouncy and joyful! :D_

_New Chapter Time! This chapter came out way longer than I thought it would… Enjoy! :D_

Another day passed. Emily, Mike, Lauren, and Cody sat back where they started, the lake. It was a very windy day. The cool breeze blew though their hair and sweaty clothes as they watched the sun set in the lake. They all felt defeated. Neither of them knew what to do. Mia is living on the edge of death and there was nothing they could do about it.

Emily, Mike, and Lauren have known the pink samurai for a long time. And although they were separated for three years and didn't exactly share the same blood, they were still the tightest family ever. The samurais stuck together like glue.

Cody met Mia a couple of months ago at her baby shower. He also broke up with Lauren at the baby shower. So he didn't see Mia again until two weeks later when he made up with Lauren at Mike and Emily's wedding. A week after the wedding, Cody saw Mia at the "Memily Welcome Home Party" but she never spoke to him. She barely spoke to anyone that day because she was so mad about being confined in a wheelchair. Then he finally got to exchange a few words with her during her seventh month of pregnancy. Mia seems like a sweet woman to Cody so even though he doesn't exactly know her enough to say he cares about her, he wants her alive.

"It sure is breezy out here." Emily said. A pebble formed in her palm with symbol power. She tossed it in the lake. "Mia would love it."

Mike nodded. "I remember, back when we were rangers, she would run around the park yelling and laughing on windy days."

"People at the park kept on staring at her like she was crazy." Emily giggled softly but then she frowned. "I can't believe we searched this entire forest and still didn't find the black flower."

Lauren played with her fingers nervously. Cody noticed his girlfriend's nervousness and rubbed her back gently.

"You're not the reason why Mia is dying." Cody had to tell Lauren this several times daily because she still felt guilty about not being able to save Mia with her powers.

"I know." Lauren stood up from sitting on the bench and began to walk toward some bushes. "There's one place in this forest that we haven't checked."

* * *

The wind and water samurai newborn cried.

Kevin didn't know what to do anymore. He fed her, changed her diaper, stuck a pacifier in her mouth, and rocked her in her swing without a break. His arms were tired but he wasn't going to give up so easily. Obviously, his daughter is highly upset about something but Kevin doesn't know what it is. Catherine explained to him that sometimes babies just cried for no apparent reason. It was driving him crazy though. She's been fussing since she woke up an hour ago. Newborns are only supposed to stay up for no more than two hours.

Still attempting to hush the agitated child in his arms, Kevin walked around the entire Shiba house, in and out the doors and hallways, in hopes of putting her back to sleep. Finally, he took a break in the kitchen. Jayden and Antonio were already in the kitchen, making dinner for everyone. Kevin could tell they were trying their best not to show their annoyance for the child wailing in his arms.

Antonio made his way to the distressed father and placed a glass of water on the dining table in front of him. "I can try to calm her down for you."

"It's fine…"

"No, it's not." Jayden spoke up from the stove he was watching over. "You're too stressed out right now. It's just making her more upset. Babies are very good on picking up their parents' emotions."

"I know." Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes. How did Jayden know that stuff anyways? He brought his daughter's head up to his shoulder and began to rub her back. "I'm her father. I can handle this."

"Remind me how long she's been crying again?" Jayden retorted. Kevin gave him a hurt look. The red samurai quickly regretted it as the baby's cry grew louder. He softened his voice. "Please make us help you buddy."

"She's safe with me. I promise." Antonio told Kevin. "If I drop her, you can kick my ass across the Atlantic Ocean."

Kevin looked at Antonio and Jayden. Then, he looked at his screaming baby. Antonio and Jayden are like brothers to him. Without having to tell them, the fire and light samurais knew they got the uncle roles in his daughter's life.

"Don't make me kick your ass across the world." Kevin glared at Antonio before passing the newborn to him. "Got it?"

"Si." Antonio cradled the newborn in his arm on his way out the kitchen. "Come on little one. You'll see Daddy again after a long nap in Uncle Antonio's bedroom. I hope you like guitars."

* * *

Lauren brought Cody, Mike, and Emily to her favorite place in the forest - where her parents are buried. As the usual the tall tree above her parents' graves was shedding its white flowers. Emily opened up the palm of her hand like a princess, letting the delicate white flowers fall gracefully into her reach.

"Wow…" Emily gasped in astonishment. "This is beautiful."

"It's almost unreal." Mike stared at nature's beauty in amazement. It had to be some kind of forest samurai record to see something so lovely.

"Jayden never brought you guys here?" Lauren asked the couple. She thought they knew about this place. They knew more about her room than she did before moving back in the Shiba house.

"No, Jayden rarely went outside unless there was a nighlok attack." Mike told her.

"Ha, my brother was such a loner." Lauren smiled to herself. "I really shouldn't be smiling. I was so much worse than him." She shook head as she said that, reminding herself of her life when she was in hiding.

"Um, aren't we supposed to be looking for something?" Cody cleared his throat, bringing everyone out of their thoughts. The sun was going down so it wouldn't be too long until they were left in the dark. And although the forest they were in didn't have much animals, being in the forest at night, wasn't always a very wise idea.

Emily was the first person to get work. She looked up at the massive tree. Most, if not all, of the flowers were white but that didn't mean the black flower wasn't hiding somewhere in the tree. Mike was right behind her. He pulled out a pair at binoculars to zoom into the tree's leaves. Cody and Lauren, having no skill when it came to nature, searched the ground. Ji and the _Healing Symbol Power_ book didn't specify if the flower grew on a tree or the ground.

* * *

"Go to sleep. Go to sleep…" Antonio trailed of in his song and placed his guitar beside the samurai newborn on his bed. "You're not making this easy, you know. Good girls sleep like angels and don't give Daddy or Uncle Antonio trouble. Did you know that?"

The baby's brown eyes gazed up her uncle's tall body. She wasn't crying anymore but she was still obviously very upset. Antonio picked her up and sat at his desk by the window. He opened the window slightly. He made sure the cold evening wind wasn't blowing on his niece's face. He didn't want her getting sick. She didn't have a strong immune system yet.

"That should cool down this hot room." Antonio slowly rocked the child in his arms. "Your mom really loves the wind. I think you will too. It can be nice. Sometimes I like the wind beating on my face when I'm fishing."

The little child made a sound. Antonio looked down to see the wind and water samurai making herself comfortable in his arms. She was closing her eyes to sleep again. Antonio grinned.

"Easy breezy..."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Cody found himself smiling like an idiot. And come to think of it, he felt like an idiot. The black flower was right in front of his face. This had to be a trick. It couldn't be this easy. If the black flower was an animate object with a mouth, it would be laughing hysterically at him and the samurais.

"Guys…" Cody waved the samurais over to a spot close to the tree that hovered over Lauren's parents' graves. "I… I found it."

"No. Way." Lauren's mouth dropped open when she saw the flower. It was out in the open. Not a single bush or weed covering it. "You… You…" Lauren jumped into Cody's arms and kissed him multiple times.

Mike looked at Emily to make sure she was okay. Cody, who isn't even a samurai, found the black flower. Emily was crying just a couple of days ago about being an Earth samurai and not being able to find the magical flower. Now Emily had tears in her eyes again. Mike gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Imagine if we didn't allow Lauren in the search." Mike whispered into her ear.

"I'm happy." Emily shook her head. "Mia's going to live."

Mike kissed her cheek and stared at the black flower. It's… well, black. It seemed like it could rip easily though. Mike didn't want to tear the flower before it got to Mia. That could cause many problems. "So… how do we get it to Ji?" He asked.

"I have an old shoe box in my car." Cody said. "We could dig it up with some dirt and carry it to the house."

"I like that idea." Emily turned her attention to Mike. "Don't we have some gardening tools in the car?"

"Yes, we do." Mike nodded. "You stay here with Lauren and I will go get supplies with Cody."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

At the Shiba house, there was peace and quiet for a couple of minutes. But their silence ended just as it was about to get good. After Antonio finally got the newborn to sleep, he placed her in her swing in Kevin's room. From then on, Kevin watched over her as she slept while getting some sleep himself. But unfortunately, both of their slumber was interrupted when Jayden accidentally dropped a pan. Kevin's room was close to the kitchen so it was loud enough to wake his daughter.

So again, Kevin attempted to hush his daughter. It's a good thing she didn't cry very loud because if she did, Kevin was sure he'd be deaf by the time she stopped. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Suddenly, the door flied open and Emily, Mike, Lauren, and Cody rushed into the house. Lauren was the first the recognize Kevin. She whispered something into Mike's ear and went off with Cody to find Ji and Catherine so they could start preparing the medicine for Mia.

"Kev…" Mike began but he wasn't quite sure what to say. He deserted him with Emily and never contacted him or even congratulated him on his first child.

"Where have you guys been?" Kevin questioned them. Mike and Emily didn't answer. The blue samurai hugged his daughter close to his chest. "Where have you guys been, huh? I needed you. Your _goddaughter_ needed you. What type of godparents are you two anyways?" Kevin shook his head and walked off to his room, giving the young couple a cold shoulder.

"Mike?"

"He'll thank us later Em." Mike wrapped his arms around his wife. "Dry your tears. Mia's going to live."

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Mia was already awake. Like expected, the black flower worked in less than twenty-four hours. Catherine and Ji left her after injecting her with a black liquid. They don't know that she's awake. No one does.

Mia lied in bed, confused. She remembered everything that happened before she passed out. She gave birth. But… where's her daughter? Where's Kevin? How long has she been out and what day is it?

All of these questions frustrated her.

Very carefully, Mia allowed her feet to touch the wooden floor. She stomped in a place before taking her first step. It felt… good. She hasn't been on her feet in weeks. She also hasn't walked on her own in months. The pink samurai walked over to the glass door that led to the front porch and stared at her faint reflection. She still had on her silk night gown. The way she looked made her pout but that didn't matter right now. She heard crying – a baby's crying. So unless it's another nine months later, Mia's pretty certain that's her baby's crying.

_Her_ baby. She's a mother. The fact just hit her.

Mia didn't waste any more time. Her daughter's crying only grew louder every minute. She opened the door and walked into the hallway quietly. There was no one in the hallway. A small smile formed on Mia's lips. That was a good sign to her. She didn't want anyone especially Ji or Catherine catching her out of bed. It would only hold her back from seeing her daughter.

Finally, Mia made it to where she wanted to be. She kept her back close to the wall next to the door leading to her bedroom with Kevin and her daughter inside. Mia didn't want to expose herself just yet. She needed to know what was going on before she made random accusations.

"Shh… Mommy is going to wake up soon. We'll be a happy family together. I promise. Just please stop crying. Please…"

Mia's heart sank. That was Kevin's voice. His voice sounded hoarse like he's been crying himself. And she's right. Kevin had tears pouring out of his eyes. Mia stepped into the room and placed a gentle hand on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin looked up at her startled.

"Mia?"

"Yeah?" Mia whispered.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet."

With that being said, Kevin placed their daughter in Mia's arms. Mia felt herself tearing up like her daughter and husband. She ran her fingers though her daughter's thin, black hair and trailed down to her cheek. Mia gazed into the baby's light, brown eyes and had a good look at the tiny body in her arms.

"She's beautiful." Mia kissed her daughter's head. "What did you name her?"

"Breezie."


	37. A Good Night

_Thanks for the reviews! Too nice! XD_

_So… To answer a quick question; No, I didn't watch PRiS. And like many ranger boys, I'm pretty certain the PRiS rangers are smexy. Lol._

_I also got another question about making a story where Breezie is older. That is answered on my profile :)_

Kevin stuffed his hands in his jeans' pockets awkwardly as he walked to the kitchen. He left Mia in their room to have a moment with Breezie. Mia insisted that he stayed but Kevin told her that there was something important that he needed to do. Before Mia woke up, he said some harsh things to Mike and Emily and never gave them a chance to explain.

When he got to the kitchen, everyone was sitting at the table, laughing and having a good time. The laughter soon stopped as they noticed Kevin entered the room though. Mike gave him a dirty look.

"It's okay." Emily whispered into Mike's ear. Mike shook his head.

"Where's our _goddaughter_?" Mike asked Kevin.

Kevin leaned on the door and sighed loudly. All of the samurais, including Cody, were staring at him, obviously not happy with the way he greeted Mike and Emily when they got home earlier. "Your goddaughter is with Mia in our room."

"Mia's awake already?" Catherine turned to Ji. Catherine helped Ji care for Mia but she didn't know much about the black flower's strength.

"We'll check on her later." Ji nodded his head. He looked at Kevin. "Sorry, continue."

"Um, I came to apologize to Mike and Emily." Kevin smiled at the couple. "And thank them along with Lauren and especially Cody for saving my wife. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

"You're welcome man." Cody returned a smile Kevin. "I really didn't do much."

"You did more than you think." Lauren told her boyfriend and rested her head on his shoulder.

"How's Breezie?" Antonio asked.

"Did she stop crying?" "Jayden added on to Antonio's question.

"She stopped crying when Mia was holding her. I have never witnessed such a beautiful miracle in my life." Kevin flicked his thumb over his shoulder. "I should probably get back to Mia. She didn't want me to leave in the first place. Do you guys…?"

"Aw, go ahead Daddy Kevin." Emily said, already knowing what Kevin was going to ask. "We'll meet Breezie later, right Mike?"

"Yeah." Mike replied. "I don't think Mia's in the mood to share her daughter right now anyways."

"Ha, got that right." Kevin chuckled. "I'll see you guys later."

When Kevin left the room, Mike's phone made a sound; alerting him he had a voicemail. Mike brought his phone to his ear and listened to the other person on the line's message.

"_Hi, Mike. This is Evany. Um, I usually don't do this especially over phone… I feel so bad about the way I spoke to you last week. My parents taught me way better than that. Uh… I hope you're okay and you're going to come back soon. I would really like to learn how to dance. That's it. Bye."_

Mike smiled brightly as he hung up the phone. There was occasional sniffling on the other line (he guessed she might have been crying) but he got the message loud and clear. Evany is ready to dance again and she's actually willing to try.

"Who was that?" Emily asked him.

"It was Evany." Mike told her. "She wants me to come back and teach her how to dance."

"That's great!" Emily kissed his cheek.

* * *

Kevin went back to his room grinning. His wife is alive, his daughter stopped crying, he made up with Mike and Emily, and judging by the mood in the kitchen, everyone else in the Samurai Family is happy. Life is good. The new father changed into bed clothes and lied on one side of the bed. Mia was on the other side with Breezie in the middle.

Breezie stared at her mother. She didn't have very good memory but she knew she never met this woman. She liked this woman though. She seemed safe, warm, and loving like her father. Mia held Breezie's tiny hand with her finger.

"She's ours." Mia said in a gentle tone.

"Yup." Kevin replied.

"Our unique little baby girl." Mia beamed, kissing her daughter. "You know, you didn't have to name her Breezie. I would have understood if you named her Aquanetta."

"But I did." Kevin shrugged. "I had a change of heart two weeks ago and I figured if you lived or not, Breezie Aquanetta Terryonna De-Tiege would be her name. I just wanted to see you happy."

"Oh, well, welcome to the world Miss Breezie." Mia tickled her daughter's stomach. "Or should I call you Bre?"

"Hey, just because I named her Breezie, doesn't mean I won't be calling her Aqua."

"So what did Terry and the rest of the family say about her? Are we good baby makers?" Mia giggled but Kevin didn't. Kevin frowned, scratching the back of his head. "You didn't tell them, did you? Why?"

"Because I wanted to be sure you'd wake up in less than a month before telling them." Kevin explained. "If you didn't live, what would I tell them? Oh, hey mom, you're a grandma now but Mia…"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Mia said, cutting off Kevin's sentence. She didn't want to hear what almost happened to her life. "So we have a lot of family to see, don't we?"

"Yeah, how do you want to do it? We can see our parents separate or we can invite them over our place or something and have a mini get-together."

"I think it would be best to share the news with both families present. We can invite your parents to my house since it's bigger. Dinner party sounds nice to you?"

"Yup, it's a plan."

"Good." Mia placed her hand on Kevin's and gazed into his eyes. "I love you. From what I can tell, you did a very nice job getting Breezie through a first week of life."

"Thank Catherine. I was clueless." Kevin blushed. "I love you too. Breezie is definitely… special."

"And ours."

"You still can't get over the fact that we made her, can you?" Kevin laughed with Mia. "It takes a while to sink in."

"Shh… shut up before you ruin the surprise!"

Kevin and Mia laughed slightly louder, not wanting to disturb Breezie, at the whispers they heard outside their door. They could hear Emily and the rest of the family giving each other harsh whispers about Breezie might be sleeping, Mia being pissed at them for not seeing her earlier, or messing up a cake. The new parents could tell what was coming for them. Expectedly, the whole Samurai Family walked into Mia and Kevin's room in all smiles with Emily holding a small homemade, pink and blue cake.

"Congratulations Mia and Kevin." Kevin read the first half of the cake after Emily placed it on the end of his bed.

"And Happy One Week Breezie." Mia finished reading the second half of the cake. "Aw, you guys are so sweet! I love the pink frosting. It's a nice touch."

"Of course you would." Kevin playfully rolled his eyes at his wife and turned to see Emily behind him, jumping up and down in pure excitement. "Yes, you can hold her."

Just as Emily was about to pick up Breezie, Mia pulled Breezie closer to her chest. "Are your hands clean young missy?"

Emily pouted and crossed her arms at Mia. Kevin just chuckled and picked up a small bottle from the nightstand next to him. "Here Em, I have some hand sanitizer."

Emily gladly squirted a good amount of the hand sanitizer in her and Mike's hands. Once the liquid dried on her hands, Kevin placed a tiny baby wrapped in a big, pink blanket in her arms.

"Hi little Bre-Bre, I'm Auntie Emy." Emily told Breezie, who was looking up at her and Mike. "You're really cute and tiny. I made you an awesome one-week cake but you can't have it which is probably a good thing because I can't cook or bake as well as your mommy."

"Stop hogging her." Mike held out his arms to hold Breezie. "It's Uncle Mike's turn."

"Fine." Emily passed Breezie to her husband. "This is Uncle Mike. He's a pain in the butt sometimes."

"But he has some… golden ideas." Kevin said, bringing Mia closer in to his chest now that Breezie wasn't separating them on the bed.

Antonio chuckled at Kevin's comment. "That's my thing Breezie. Your dad thinks he's funny."

"Man, you're so small." Mike said to Breezie. Breezie made a sound that eventually turned into a cry. Mike looked at the new parents. "I didn't mean it."

Kevin checked the time on the clock that was hung up on a wall. "It's okay. She's just hungry."

"Yes! My first time feeding her!" Mia sat up in the bed and took Breezie out of Mike's arms. "Where's her bottle? I want to make her formula and everything!"

"I don't think she's _that_ type of hungry Mia." Kevin smirked.

Mia gave him a confused look but then she pointed to her bust. "Oh, I see, she's _this_ hungry." She began to pull her spaghetti strap off shoulder and looked at the rest of the family. "Can a mom get some privacy here?"

"Oh, yeah, um… good night." The rest of the Samurai Family hurried out of the room, giving Mia the privacy she requested to feed her daughter.

Ji shook his head at the samurais and picked up the cake at the end of Kevin and Mia's bed. "I'll just put this in the kitchen for tomorrow. We can have it after breakfast."

"Good night you three." Catherine told the family on her way out the door with Ji.

"Good night." Mia and Kevin chorused.


	38. See You Later

_Random Fact Time!_

_Rick Medina, who played Deker in Samurai, also played Cole, the red ranger in Wild Force. And Rene Naufahu, who played Mentor Ji, also played Emperor Gruumm on SPD._

_Okay, so not a big shocker. Several actors from previous seasons in PR come back for different roles in other seasons. Many long-time PR fans know this already but I just thought I would share with those that didn't know or do as much PR stalking as I do :P_

_Quick Announcements Time!_

_1. I made a Megaforce fanfic. It's called Asking Gia Moran to Prom._

_2. I have been debating with myself back and forth on how to end this story or if I should even complete it. I think and really hope I made the right decision. _

_Yes, this story is complete. I was looking back at this wonderful story of mine that I came up with in the shower (I'm so serious :P) and I was like "Wow, 38 chapters? When did this happen?" But although this story is complete, it's not the end of The Samurai Family. I have a lot of loose ends to clean up and fresh ideas I would really like to share with you guys in… *drum roll* The Samurai Family II: Here We Go Again. Yes, you read right! The Samurai Family II: Here We Go Again! I haven't started writing it yet but make sure to keep an eye out for it!_

_Happy Late – Easter my wonderful fans! The reviews, follows, and favorites mean soooooooo much! Even my guest reviewers are flippin' cool!_

_Now go enjoy the new chapter! :)_

* * *

"Hey, no crying Bre-Bre." Mia said, pulling Breezie out of her bassinette. "We're going home today. You get to see your new room and meet your grandparents and Uncle Terry. You're going to love Uncle Terry. I know I do."

Kevin watched as Breezie settled in her mother's warm arms while he folded clothes in a suitcase. He had to admit, he was a little jealous. In just a week, he has grown attached to his role as a father. But he's glad Mia is finally awake and can help him care for their daughter together. Also, he really needs to get back to work before his students and coworkers grow suspicious.

"You haven't been outside since you've been born, have you?" Mia cooed at Breezie while she stood by the window. It was a bright and sunny day.

Although she enjoyed the Shiba siblings' hospitality, Mia couldn't wait to leave the Shiba house. She only planned on staying for a month and that month turned into almost two months. Catherine and Ji already gave her the okay to leave a day ago after a quick medical checkup so all there was left to do was to pack her bags and go.

"Who got us this bassinette?" Mia asked Kevin. The pink samurai placed Breezie back in her bassinette. She gave her a pacifier to keep her occupied while she finished helping Kevin pack.

"Jayden got it for us." Kevin answered. Since he refused to leave without Mia after Breezie was born, Antonio and Jayden got a bassinette for their niece while she stayed with them.

"Oh, well it's lovely. I love the cream-colored veil." Mia giggled to herself softly. "Are Jayden and Lauren ever going to stop being so nice to us? I swear, apart from college, they have no use for all of that money of theirs."

"They're family." Kevin chuckled at his wife's comment. "They're allowed to spoil us like we spoil them."

"Speaking of family…" Mia picked up two phones from the dresser. She handed one to Kevin. "We have phone calls to make."

"You're it." Kevin poked Mia's arm and stepped away quickly before she could poke him back.

"Meanie." Mia rolled her eyes and began to dial her father's number. Her mother was likely at work and she didn't want to disturb her. She didn't have to wait too long until her father answered.

"_Hey honey, how are you feeling? Last I heard you couldn't move because of all of that pain the baby is putting you in."_ Nicholas greeted his daughter on the phone.

"Oh, I'm fine daddy. I'm feeling a lot better."

"_That's good to hear. June is just around. I'm sure you're just itching to push her out."_

"Yeah… I can't wait." Mia replied, glancing at the bassinette that held Breezie. She didn't want to tell her dad about her daughter on the phone. She and Kevin planned to bring his parents over her parents' house and surprise them with their first grandchild together.

"_So when are you leaving the Shiba house? I can drive by your house if you'd like me to and pick up anything you need."_

"It's funny you should ask. I'm going home today."

"_Oh? Well, that's rather fast, don't you think?"_

"Ji and Catherine said I'm good to go… Lauren is going to check on me every day." Mia bit her lip. She wasn't a very good liar. "So, um, can you and mom do me a favor?"

"_Of course, anything for my girl."_

"Kevin and I want to get the family together before I have the baby. So can his parents come over this Saturday for a dinner party?"

"_Yes, they can. You know that Diana and Paul are always welcomed."_

"I know. I just wanted to make sure." Mia said in a hurry. She could see Breezie getting upset again and her crying would not help with the surprise. "I have to go daddy. I love you. Bye."

"You almost ruined the surprise you little trouble maker." Mia told Breezie, picking her up. She began to feed her leftover milk she had in a bottle.

Kevin chuckled at his wife. "I'll take it that everything went well?"

"Yes, all we need now is your parents." Mia gestured to the door. "I'm going to ask someone else to feed Breezie so I can start bringing our stuff out to the car."

"Okay, go do that." Kevin opened the door for Mia and Breezie. "I'll call my parents."

* * *

Mike walked into a guest bedroom in another part of the Shiba house with a huge smirk dancing on his lips. Somehow, a strange miracle happened, and he woke up before Emily. The yellow samurai always disturbed his beauty sleep. This time, it's his turn. He slowly crept to the bed. He could see Emily's blonde hair sticking out of the white duvet. It seems like she took advantage of not having to share the bed with him so she wrapped herself in the sheets.

Once Mike got the end of the bed, he grabbed one of Emily's feet that wasn't covered by the sheet and began to tickle it. "Wake up Emy, it's almost noon."

"Go away." Emily muttered. She spent all of yesterday resting from her epic search for the black flower and she still felt a little tired today. It wasn't everyday someone said they spent an entire week looking for a flower, not a bunch of flowers, but _one_ rare flower. It was more exhausting than it looked.

"Oh, come on, I can't mess with you?" Mike hopped on the bed and wrapped his arms around her waist, or what he thinks is her waist under all of the bed sheets.

"It's only cute when I do it."

"Would I be cute if I kissed you?" Mike pulled the sheet down, exposing Emily's face. She turned away from him.

"Go away."

"Wake up." Against his wife's protests, Mike kissed her head and hugged her closer. "I love you."

"Good for you. I love me too."

"Ha-ha, real funny." Mike said, earning himself a kick in the leg from Emily. He just laughed at her aggression. "I was feeding Breezie not too long ago… Seems like she wants a cousin."

Emily turned her face to Mike and smiled. They just got married. Traditionally, having kids was next step. Emily loves her goddaughter. Every time she held Breezie, she naturally thought about having kids with Mike but right now just wasn't a good time. She was busy trying to get into college and making the best of her job that didn't pay much, well, not much to afford a baby.

"Breezie is going to have to wait." Emily replied softly. She held her husband's hand lovingly. "Ask me again in a couple of months. If things work out, I would be more than happy to give Breezie a cousin."

"I'm not trying to rush you. It's just a thought that has been bothering me."

"It's been bothering me too but you're happy with what we have now, right?"

Mike looked at Emily's nervous smile. He smiled back. "Hell yeah, you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I'm still trying to figure out why you were even bullied as a kid."

"I'm happy too."

* * *

A few hours later, the samurais found themselves standing outside by their vehicles, waving goodbyes to Ji and Catherine as they drove off. The couple has been in and out of the Shiba house for the past month and a half. Now that the samurais finally managed to keep up with their lives again, Ji and Catherine's services are no longer needed for the time being. They were excited to go home and get some peace and quiet with each other.

"So… who's next?" Lauren spoke up, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Mike sighed deeply. "I have to go to work. I called back Evany and promised to give her a private dance class."

"Yeah, I need to head back to work too." Emily hugged everyone and stopped by Mia, who was holding a baby car seat in one hand. She got one knee and tickled the little body that was inside the seat. "I'll see you soon little one. You're never going to get rid of me or Uncle Mike no matter how hard you try."

With that being said, Emily kissed Breezie and hugged Mia. "I love you… sister."

"I love you too. Call me when you get home."

"We will." Mike opened the car door for his wife and made sure she was comfortable before getting into the driver's seat. Soon enough, they were on their way home, their other home.

Without having to say anything, Kevin opened the back door to his minivan and took Breezie out of Mia's hand. Once Breezie was in the van safely, Mia stepped inside and sat beside her daughter. She rolled down the window and smiled. "Thanks for everything guys. Stop being so sweet. You're all going to give me a cavity."

"But we want you to have a cavity." Antonio laughed.

Kevin shook his head, laughing too, as he placed a pair of sunglasses on his head. "We'll see you guys later."

Lauren, Antonio, and Jayden watched as Kevin got into his vehicle and drove off the Shiba's property.

"Well, I guess things are back to normal again." Lauren frowned, wiping a tear off her cheek. Jayden gave his sister a sympathetic look and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay." Jayden rubbed his older sister's back. "We'll see them again soon."

"Hey, how about some ice cream?" Antonio suggested. He dangled his car keys. "Cody can come along too."

"Yes, please, I'll call Cody right now!" Lauren bounced. "I get the front seat!"

Jayden chuckled at his sister's sudden happiness. "The Samurai Family will never be normal."

_I'm sad! Maybe a review or two will make me better? Pretty please with a samurai action figure on top? But seriously, I really hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed typing it. Remember to look out for The Samurai Family II: Here We Go Again. What do you think is going to happen in that story? Anything you would like to see happen? If you have an account, I might answer you! If you don't… well, maybe I'll answer on my profile :)_

**The Samurai Family by Miss DJ Classy B**

**December 1, 2012 – April 2, 2013**


End file.
